The May Men’s Invitation Day was held last week and the format was a four man team event with two scores to count at each hole.  This competition was open to a member and his three guests and is an ongoing event each month until next September.  Kilkenny may have held the balance on the hurling field recently but the Tipperary golfers held sway in this event when a team from Thurles Golf Club swept the main prize by a whopping 10 shots from their nearest rivals.  On a day with a stiff north westerly breeze blowing and some of the tee boxes that were in play positioned on the championship blue course, conditions were testing for a large turnout of competitors.  The winners returned a great score of 94 points under the circumstances with two nines of 47 points each.  They recorded 6 points on the 1^st, 4^th, 8^th, 10^th, 15^th, and 17^th holes and a seven pointer on the 3^rd and on the remainder of their card they never dipped under 4 points.  The runners-up were 10 points adrift when they scored 40 and 44 points for their nines and just held on by a point from the third placed team.  All prize winners will qualify for the final day to be held in October with the other invitation day prizewinners over the coming months.

In the Golfer of the Year competition, the early lead in the men’s section after three rounds is held by Alan Hearn with 20 points.  John Mulholland, Mark Magnier, PJ Aylward and Conor Spain are tied for second place on 12 points.  There is a tie in the ladies section between Helen Walsh and Adrienne Walsh with both ladies on 18 points.  Second place is shared by Karan Murphy and Ruth Mulholland on 16 points and the next round of the G.O.Y., will be held in conjunction with the Jack Nicklaus Trophy on Sunday week 26^th May, for which the timesheet is already open.

On the Inter Club front the last two teams are in action next weekend with the Pierce Purcell Team, managed by Paul Madigan in action in the regional qualifying round in Wexford Golf Club.  The Junior Cup Team, managed by Alan Hoyne is also playing in Courtown Golf Club in their regional qualifier.  We wish both teams the best of luck in their quest for honours.

The first round of the club match play for men and ladies must be completed by 31^st May and players who as yet have not played their respective matches are reminded to contact their opponents as soon as possible and to arrange any outstanding matches.

Results – Member/Guest Fourball Stableford, Sunday 19^th May

Winners       Norman Williams (13)

                   Willie Horgan (13) (Kilkenny)        47 points

Second        Graham Robinson (6)

                   Una Robinson (19) (Wexford)        46 points

Third            Sean Brett (8)

                   Therese Maher (36)                      45 points

Results – Men’s May Invitation Day 4 Person Team, Wednesday 15^th May

Winners       Pat Stakelum (18)

                   Pat McEvoy (14)

                   John McGrath (15)

                   Donal Hurley (18)                         94 points

Second        Jim Gorey (15)

                   Liam Duggan (11)

                   Sean O’Neill (15)

                   Fr. Pat Duggan (18)                     84 points

Third            PJ Aylward (7)

                   Seamus Grace (15)

                   Kevin Fennelly (9)

                   Eamon Brennan (11)                    83 points

Category 2 was won with another 38 points and this was returned by Mark Magnier. Mark had nines of 16 and 22 points. He failed to register a score on the 4th and 11th holes but otherwise played very steadily to register an easy win in his category. Bryan Phelan just got home in category 3 with 34 points and won on a countback. The ladies section was won by Geraldine Higgins with 37 points with nines of 16 and 21 points respectively. After a shaky start when Geraldine failed to register a point on the 2nd and 3rd holes, she settled down for the remainder of her round to score a further 35 points. This was just good enough to win the medal on a countback from Myra Phelan who also returned 37 points.

Another three teams exited from the inter club scene and two of them were beaten by neighbours, Callan, who had convincing victories in both the Ladies Intermediate Trophy and the Duggan Cup for men. The ladies team were beaten by a margin of 3½ matches to 1½ matches while the men’s team were beaten by a margin of 4 matches to 1. The third team was the Ladies Challenge Cup team and they were beaten by Rathsallagh Golf Club and this match was played at Mount Wolseley.

Last Wednesday, the May Ladies Invitation Day took place and the competition was a 4 person team event. This competition was won with a fine score of 104 points by a team led by Margaret O’Rourke and the winning team was eight shots clear of their nearest opponents who in turn were a further three shots clear of third place.

May Ladies Invitation Day – Wednesday 8th May 2013

Winners

Margaret O’Rourke (23)
Pauline McEnery (33)
Bridget Mullins (30) (Gowran Park)
Annette Whelan (28) (Kilkenny) 104 points

Second

Aileen Magee (29)
Marcella Kelly (18) (Ashbourne)
Mary Carey (23) (Ashbourne)
Kathleen Gleeson (18) (Roganstown) 96 points

Third

Helen Scully (17)
Margaret McCreery (18) (Kilkenny)
Pauline Dwan (28) (Grange)
Ruth Mulholland (12) 93 points

Results – May Monthly Medal Sunday 12th May 2013

Category 1 Gavin Smyth (+1) 38 points
Category 2 Mark Magnier (15) 38 points
Category 3 Bryan Phelan (18) 34 points
Ladies Geraldine Higgins (33) 37 points

Aidan had nines of 39 and 42 shots respectively with his only birdie coming on the long 2nd hole. He completed his round with bogies on the 16th and 18th but held on by 2 shots from his nearest rivals to record an impressive victory. In second place came John McGrath who just pipped Billy Mernagh on a countback over the last nine holes. The best nett score for the day was won by Keith Richards with a 70.

Last weekend saw the second round of the Summer League completed and this was completed before the start of the
Intermediate Scratch Cup. The ladies were very much to the fore in the league with some excellent scoring. In first place came Helen Walsh with 43 points closely followed by Karan Murphy with 41 points. The only man to feature on the podium was Conor Mulholland and he was some six shots behind the winner. Helen started her round rather unimpressively with a treble bogey seven on the 1st but settled down well to record 21 points for her first nine holes. Apart from failing to register a point on the 12th, she scored a further impressive 22 points for her last nine holes.

On the Inter Club front the Ladies Miele Fourball team were well beaten by Borris on a 3½ to 1½ scoreline and this week the Men’s Duggan Cup team will take on neighbours Callan in the second round. Callan have the home advantage of the odd match of five in what should be a close encounter.

Results – Intermediate Scratch Cup Sunday 5th May

Winner Aidan O’Keeffe (14) (Cobh) 81 shots

Second John McGrath (12) (Lisheen) 83 shots

Third William Mernagh (13) (Callan) 83 shots

Best Nett Keith Richards (13) (Fermoy) 70 nett

Results – Summer League Sunday 5th May

Winner Helen Walsh (31) 43 points

Second Karan Murphy (34) 41 points

Third Conor Mulholland (17) 37 points

On the Inter Club scene, the ladies are doing battle with Borris this weekend in the Miele Fourball with two pairings at home and two pairings away. The result will be decided on matches won and holes won. The Pierce Purcell team are at Wexford in three weeks time to compete in the regional qualifying round and the panel are preparing for this important date. The Duggan Cup team will do battle against Callan on Wednesday next in the second round with the draw advantage favouring Callan.

On Wednesday next 8th May the May Ladies Invitation Day will take place and the format will be a four person team event. The following Sunday will see the May Monthly Medal down for decision and this is a Golfer of the Year event.

Results Summer League Sunday 28th April

Winner Hugh O’Connor (6) 38 points
Second Dermot Fennelly (11) 37 points.(last nine)
Third Ted Hoyne (8) 37 points

Mount Juliet Golf Notes Monday 29th April 2013

At Mount Juliet the team pairings comprised of John O’Dwyer/Frank Smyth, Ted Hoyne /Jon O’Sullivan and Jeff Howes/Sean O’Neill.  All three matches were in control after nine holes and the first and latter pairings went on to have comprehensive victories on the 13^th and 12^th holes respectively.  The pairing of Ted Hoyne and Jon O’Sullivan were 3 up after the 14^th hole and seemed to have victory within their grasp only for the Castlecomer pairing to stage a determined comeback over the closing holes.  However, Ted and Jon held on to finish in style on the 18^th and so the team progresses to the next round against neighbours, Callan, who won at a similar stage last year.

Last Sunday, in difficult weather conditions, the “Rumble for Crumlin” charity event was held.  The rules of the competition are the best individual score is recorded for the first six holes, then two scores are recorded on the next six holes with all three scores recorded for the last six.  The competition was won in a very convincing fashion by a team led by this year’s captain, Dermot Divilly, who returned 83 points to win by a big margin.  The winners had 17 points on the first six holes and added 31 points on holes 7 to 12 and finished the last six with a further 35 points.  The two other members of the team were Michael Brennan (12) and Dermot Fennelly (11).  This team will now go forward and represent the club at the final later in the year.

Next Sunday sees the start of the Summer League and a timesheet is in operation with entries at the golf shop.  Twenty four ladies from the club had a very enjoyable overnight golf trip led by the Lady Captain, Dorothy Kilroy, to Carton House recently.  But as usual what happens in Carton House stays in Carton House.  Dorothy reports that the “Ladies Monday Morning” competition is becoming very popular and entries are picking up each week.

On a day which started with a very strong wind and ended up in the afternoon as a gale, scoring was surprising good. There were three categories for the men and one category for the ladies. The best score of the day was in the ladies section where Paula Moore returned an excellent 38 points in the late evening and in the worst of the prevailing conditions. Paula just got the better of Helen Walsh who looked to have the prize in safe keeping with a great 37 points but only to be passed late in the day. Paula had nines of 18 and 20 points respectively and had blanks on the 1st and 15th holes, which were playing very difficult, but otherwise was the essence of consistency. Paula entered the ladies match play draw along with another 15 players, which as ever, produced some interesting matches.

The men’s three categories were won by PJ Aylward, John Stakelum and John Mulholland with the latter returning the best score of 37 points. John Mulholland had nines of 20 and 17 points respectively and his only mistake was at the 15th where he failed to register a point. PJ Aylward and John Stakelum had scores of 34 and 32 points respectively to win their categories. The draw for the men’s match play, which contains a total of 32 players was also made immediately after play ceased.

Last Wednesday saw the first of the Men’s Invitation Days for 2013. The format of the competition was a fourball stableford and this was won by Seamus Grace and Thos Farrell with 43 points. They had a shot to spare from brothers, Dermot and Kevin Fennelly who in turn just beat Richard Scott and Mark Higgins on a countback. This was the first of a number of these competitions scheduled for the remainder of the season and proved to be very popular with a sizeable entry.

On the Inter Club scene the Ladies Junior Cup team made their exit from the competition at the hands of neighbours, Callan, but the result went down to the wire with the 5 matches tied at two all, the Callan ladies prevailed in the final match. Next Friday sees the Men’s Duggan Cup team take on their counterparts from Castlecomer with the odd match of five being played at Mount Juliet. On Sunday next the “Rumble for Crumlin” will take place and this again is a timesheet competition.

The draws for both the ladies and gents Matchplay are posted on their respective notice boards and the first round must be completed by 31st May which should allow ample time for players to contact each other.

McCalmont Matchplay – Men

Owen Phelan v Alan Buckley
Maurice Neligan v Bryan Phelan
Graham Robinson v Tim Kavanagh
Jon O’Sullivan v John O’Dwyer
PJ Aylward v Pat Stakelum
John Thornton v John Stakelum
Diarmuid Crowley v Shay Quinn
Michael Collins v James E. Brett
Alan Hearne v David Kelly
Padraic O’Connor v Ted Hoyne
Willie Cotter v Ronan Baird
Mark Magnier v Richard Scott
Mark Logan v Killian Buckley
Paul Forde v Michael Brennan
John Mulholland v Pat Garvey
Dermot Fennelly v Billy Murphy

McCalmont Matchplay – Ladies

Paula Moore v Brenda O’Sullivan
Mary Cotter v Helen Scully
Helen Walsh v Rebecca Nixon
Fiona Corbett v Ruth Mulholland
Mary O’ Neill v Therese Maher
Karan Murphy v Helen Hedigan
Ursula Mason v Rita Garvey
Anne Murphy v Aileen Magee

Results April Monthly Medal Sunday 14th April

Category 1 PJ Aylward (8) 34 points

Category 2 John Stakelum (14) 32 points

Category 3 John Mulholland (21) 37 points

Ladies Paula Moore (35) 38 points

Men’s Invitation Day Wednesday 10th April

Winners
Seamus Grace (15)
Thos Farrell (4) (Gowran Park) 43 points
Second
Dermot Fennelly (11)
Kevin Fennelly (9) (Gowran Park) 42 points
Third
Richard Scott (12) (Cork)
Mark Higgins (20) (Fota Island) 42 points

The second competition to be played for was the April Ladies Invitation Scramble on Wednesday and again a full timesheet was in operation. The convincing winners were Aileen Magee and her two guests Marcella and Jill Kelly. They had four shots to spare over their nearest rivals who in turn were a further shot clear of the third place winners.

On Sunday last the Member/Guest Series continued with a 4 Person Team Event and despite the prevailing easterly cold wind some fine scores were recorded. Best score of the day was 93 points and this was returned by Billy Fanning, Ted Hoyne, Alan Hoyne and Michael Brennan. They had two shots to spare from the Thurles Golf Club based team of Pat, Richard and Donagh Stakelum with their friend Pat McEvoy completing the line-up. The winners scored nines of 47 and 46 points respectively whilst the runners-up had nines of 45 and 46 points.

Sad to relate another team made their exit from the Inter Club scene with the demise of the Irish Mixed Foursomes team at the hands of Killerig Golf Club. This Wednesday there is a Member/Guest Fourball with the April Monthly Medal down for decision on Sunday next and this will be a Golfer of the Year competition as well. This competition will also be used as a qualifying competition for the McCalmont Matchplay for both the ladies and gents.

Results Junior Day Wednesday 3rd April 18 Holes Singles Stableford

Winner; Laura McBrinn (31) (Faithlegg) 41 points
Second; Kayleigh Roche (35) (Faithlegg) 41 points
Third; Sean Kennedy (18) (Faithlegg) 41 points
Special; Lisa Kinsella (19) (Faithlegg) 36 points

Results April Ladies Invitation Day 18 holes Scramble

Winners

Aileen Magee (28)
Marcella Kelly (18) (Ashbourne)
Jill Kelly (27) (Blessington Lakes) 73 points

Second

Ita Slattery (21)
Mary Lennon (14) (Sutton)
Deirdre McDermott (16) (Rathfarnham) 69 points

Third

Ann Marie McEvoy (17)
Karan Murphy (34)
Margaret O’Dwyer (32) (Callan) 68 points

Results Member/Guest 4 Person Team Event Sunday 7th April

Winners

Billy Fanning (16)
Ted Hoyne (8)
Alan Hoyne (7)
Michael Brennan (12) (Mount Juliet) 93 points

Second

Pat Stakelum (18)
Richard Stakelum (9)
Pat McEvoy (14)
Donagh Stakelum (7) (Thurles) 91 points

The runners-up had a commendable better ball score of one under par 71 gross and they will rue dropping a shot at the par three 14th, where both players could only muster a bogie where a par would have won the competition for them.

The singles on Sunday was won with 35 points with two players achieving the required target and this proved to be a difficult target to achieve. Eamon Hannon from Loughrea G.C. and Mary O’Shea from Kilkenny G.C. were the winners in their respective categories. The C.S.S. for the men was 32 points and the ladies C.S.S. was non counting, reflecting the difficult conditions.

Unfortunately another Mount Juliet team faltered at the first hurdle with the Barton Cup team exiting from the competition at the hands of neighbours Gowran Park. In the end, the team was comprehensively beaten by a score of 3½ to 1½ . The Mount Juliet pairing of Paul Madigan and Michael Brennan were the only winning combination at Gowran Park. The next team in action is in the Irish Mixed Foursomes competition and the opposition is Killerig G.C., with the Carlow team holding the advantage of the odd match of five at home.

Next Sunday sees another Member/Guest competition take place and this is a 4 person team event and the April Ladies Invitation Day takes place this Wednesday.

Results – Sunday 31st March, Member/Guest 18 Holes Fourball Stableford

Winners John Keane (6) & Helen Scully (17) 41 points (last 9)
Second John O’Dwyer (5) & Ryan O’Dwyer (2) 41 points

Results – Monday 1st April, 18 Holes Open Singles

Winner Eamon Hannon (6) Loughrea G.C. 35 points
Second Alan Hearne (7) 33 points
Ladies Mary O’Shea (16) Kilkenny G.C. 35 points

Two stroke competitions were also held over the past week and the most important one was the March Monthly Medal which took place last Sunday. This was the first competition carrying points to decide the Golfer of the Year for 2013. As is usual in all member’s medal competitions, play was off the white tees for the men and with a bitter wind blowing from the east throughout the day, conditions for good scoring proved to be very difficult for all competitors. The target for the day proved to be 35 points which was achieved by Alan Hearne in Category I. The nearest to Alan’s score was Ronan Murphy who had 34 points in Category III. The other men’s category was won by Ger Dowling and nice to see Adrienne Walsh winning the ladies category with 31 points.

On St. Patrick’s Day there was an open singles played and scoring was very good with Richie Guilfoyle proving to be a convincing overall winner. Richie scored 40 points which equated to a one under par gross for the 18 holes. In second place, former Lady Captain Myra Phelan scored 38 points with John O’Dwyer filling third spot with 36 points.

On Sunday next, Easter Sunday, a Member/Guest Fourball Stableford will take place and the following Wednesday the first Ladies Invitation Day for 2013 will also take place and the format for this will be a 3 Person Rumble.

Results St. Patrick’s Day 18 Holes Open Singles

Winner Richie Guilfoyle (3) (Kilkenny) 40 points
Second Myra Phelan (22) 38 points
Third John O’Dwyer (5) (Callan) 36 points

Results, March Monthly Medal Sunday 24th March 18 Holes Singles

Category 1 Alan Hearne (7) 35 points
Category 2 Ger Dowling (16) 33 points
Category 3 Ronan Murphy (25) 34 points
Ladies Adrienne Walsh (23) 31 points

Members of Callan Golf Club were very much to the fore when
some very good scoring was registered last Sunday in the
Member/Guest Fourball Stableford played on a dry but cold day
with a chill wind blowing all day. Early frost delayed the start
to the competition and the best score on the day was 44 points
and this was recorded by two pairings but on a countback Sean
Brett and his partner Brian Duggan from Callan Golf Club emerged
the winners. The winning pair registered a total of four birdies
with three of them coming together on the 5th, 6th and 7th holes
and a further birdie on the 11th completed the quartet of
birdies. Both players contributed two birdies each and had nines
of 22 points to just get the better of Eamon Murphy and Sil
Lester. The runners-up must have regretted failing to register a
score on the long 8th hole as this proved to be the losing of the
competition as they scored 23 points for the other eight holes on
the first nine and then added a further 21 points for last nine
holes. In third place came the Thurles pairing of John Stakelum
and John Nevin with 43 points.

In the Inter Club competitions run under the auspices of the
Golfing Union of Ireland, Mount Juliet have drawn some very
difficult opponents in the 1st round of both the Barton Cup and
Leinster Fourball competitions. In the Barton Cup, the opponents
are Gowran Park and in the Leinster Fourball, Mount Juliet have
drawn Waterford Golf Club with both the opposing clubs having the
home advantage.

Results Member/Guest Stableford Fourball Sunday 3rd March

Winners Sean Brett (8)

Brian Duggan (2) (Callan) 44 points

Second Eamon Murphy (16)

Sil Lester (13) (Callan) 44 points

Third John Stakelum (14)

John Nevin (13) (Thurles) 43 points

Last Saturday was busy day on the estate with well over a 1,000 people taking part in the “Run Mount Juliet” event in aid of local charity Cois Nore. The events were run over 3km,10km and Half Marathon and after a drizzly start to the day the event itself was completed in fine dry weather and proved to be huge success for deserving causes. Competitors arrived from early morning and the last of them were seen leaving the estate late in the evening. Some pictures of the event are available on the Mount Juliet Facebook Page.

Next Sunday sees the resumption of the Winter League for members with a Member/Guest Fourball scheduled for Sunday 3rd March. In between dates on 27th February the popular Winter Series for teams of four will take place.

Results Member/Guest Fourball Stableford Sunday 17th February

Winners

Hugh O’Connor (6)

Donal O’Sullivan (13) Milltown G.C. 48 points

Second

Sean Brett (8)

Ryan O’Dwyer (2) Callan G.C. 46 points

Third

Billy Fanning (10)

Brian Clear (11) Carlow G.C. 45 points

On Sunday a member/guest fourball stableford took place over the full course. With the recent rainfall, conditions were on the softer side of good ground but the competition itself produced some excellent scoring with 44 points securing the prizes on offer. The winning pair of Michael Byrne and his partner Tom McCormack secured victory on a countback over the last six holes. The runners-up were the father and son combination of John and Conor Mulholland and they were left to rue scoring a double bogey six on the last hole which cost them overall first prize. Both partnerships scored 22 points on each nine holes and as pointed out earlier victory was only gained on the usual breakdown over the last nine holes.

The popular Open Winter Series for teams of four players, of any combination, makes a welcome return on Wednesday 13th February and tee times may be booked through reservations or the golf shop.

Results Member/Guest Fourball Stableford

Before all the formalities of the day a very enjoyable two person scramble took place over each nine holes which produced some hot scoring. Best score of the day was produced by the husband and wife pairing of Ger Dowling and Karen Murphy who returned a one over par gross score of 37 shots for an impressive 27 shots nett score which won the first nine hole prize. The winners of the second nine hole prize were Pat Fitzpatrick and Dermot Fennelly who had a level par round of 36 shots which yielded a nett score of 31 shots.

Results of Nine Holes 2 Person Scramble Saturday 5th January

First Nine Holes

Second Nine Holes

The Winter League for members resumes next Sunday and will continue until Mid December. In the meantime the Santa train will commence in early December and continue up to Christmas which should once again prove to be a big take with our young and old visitors alike.

Results Member/Guest Fourball Hamper, Sunday 18th November 2012

Winners

Pat Fitzpatrick (14)

Michael Fitzpatrick (13) Callan G.C. 41 points

Second

Timmy Howes (18)

Luke Donnelly (5) 41 points

Third

Liam Duggan (11)

John Grace (13) Callan G.C. 41 points

In the ladies section Ann O’Shea was the convincing winner with 34 points starting in sparkling form with birdies on the 1st and 7th to score 18 points for her first 8 holes and then added a further 16 points on the last eight holes.  She failed to register a point on the long 13th and this was her only blip in an otherwise impressive round of golf.  Her nearest challenger was Liz Beatty who finished with 32 points and will be disappointed not to have scored on the 5th, 10th and 11th holes when victory was within her grasp.

The next hampers scheduled to be played for will be on 18th November when a Member/Guest Fourball Stableford will be the format.  Again this competition will be over 16 holes with a two tee start on the 1st and 10th holes and slots can be obtained by phoning tee reservations or by going  online.

Results Christmas Hamper 16 Holes Singles Sunday 4th November

Men          Winner           Sean Brett (10)                  37 points(last eight)
                   Second          Ken MacDonald (25)           37 points
                   Junior             Tim Howes  (18)                  36 points

Ladies       Winner           Ann O’Shea (13)                34 points
                   Second          Liz Beatty (16)                   32 points

The McCalmont Cup Matchplay for the men was also completed recently and this was a separate competition from the ladies matchplay, who heretofore played against the men in the same competition. Mark Delahunty, playing off 8 handicap, beat Frank Smyth (15) on the 17th by a margin of 2 and 1. Mark playing the steadier golf throughout the round, even though conceding 7 shots to his opponent, ran out the convincing winner.

The Annual Review of handicaps will be undertaken in the next two weeks by the Handicap Committee and forwarded to the Golfing Union of Ireland for ratification. At this time of the year the incoming Captain, Dermot Divilly will be considering his team managers for 2013 for the various competitions. This year it is hoped to include them in the 2013 Fixture Book along with some other relevant information on sub-committees appointed to look after the various competitions.

Next Sunday there is a 16 holes singles members hamper scheduled for completion and the Winter Series will resume on Sunday 11th November. Tee times can be booked on-line or by phoning the golf shop for these competitions.

The Irish PGA Championship has produced it’s fair share of photo finishes since it’s inception just over 100 years ago and this year was no exception with the outcome not resolved until the third tie hole in gloomy light at picturesque Mount
Juliet. The championship which was due to be decided over 72 holes commencing on last Thursday had to be curtailed to 54 holes due to the incessant rain which fell during Wednesday night and again on Thursday morning as play commenced. Players had already started their round only to be called in after less than an hour and it was reluctantly decided to abandon the first round and to shorten the tournament to 54 holes. After the 1st round the early leader was Peter Martin from Riverside Golf Acadamey in Northern Ireland with a 67, which was 5 under par and he was followed by John Kelly, Eamon Brady and Barrie Trainor on 69. Peter Martin still led after the second round on -6 after a 71 and he was just ahead of Eamon Brady and local hope Gary Murphy both of whom had closed to within a shot with the remainder of the field closing in on the leader as well.

After the second round the field was reduced to 54 players and play had to be suspended for 3 hours on Sunday morning due to heavy fog. When play eventually got under way three players were making a move up the leader board and these were Noel Murray of Massereene, Gary Murphy and David Higgins of Waterville with Peter Martin still holding on to the lead. Gary took over the lead on the 8th hole and moved to 8 under par for the tournament after a succession of birdies. He held this lead until the very last hole where he was joined by David Higgins and Noel Murray. Gary was still a shot ahead of his pursuers playing the 54th hole but he unfortunately dropped only his second shot to par over the final round when he had a five.

The play-off was over the par five 17th and par four 18th holes and the format was a sudden death. Unfortunately for Gary he made his exit on the first play-off hole, the 17th,when he hit his second shot to the front edge of the green he proceeded to three putt and although David Higgins and Noel Murray had not executed as fine an approach they both chipped and putted for birdies. This meant that Gary was eliminated from the play-off and both Higgins and Murray continued play down the 18th. Here both players had a four after they both chipped and putted to save their pars. Up the long 17th again and after David Higgins’ approach shot came to rest some 90 yards short of the green and under a large tree he executed a divine low chip to within a foot for a winning birdie 4 with Noel Murray lipping out from the bunker for a half after his approach chip finished in the left hand bunker. Gary was unfortunate not to win the championship as he had chances for birdies to consolidate his lead on the 16th and 17th holes in his final round.

The winner pocketed a cheque for €3,500 with the two runners-up receiving a cheque for €2,150 each with Peter Martin getting €1660. It was a day to remember for David Higgins as he also won the Order of Merit and another handsome cheque.

Result of the Irish P.G.A Championship 2012

Winner: David Higgins, Waterville Golf Club (70,72,67.) ….209

Second: Noel Murray, Massereene Golf Club (70,70,69)……209

Gary Murphy, Laytown Bettystown (70,69,70)……..209

Fourth: Peter Martin, Riverside Golf Academy (67,71,72)….210

The Pro-Am which took place on Wednesday before the championship was won by a team from Stranorlar/Ballybofey Golf Club led by John Dolan with a massive score of 100 points. They just got home on a countback from a Castlecomer Golf Club Team led by Robert Giles with a Mount Juliet team led by John Dywer of Ashbourne Golf Club on 97 points in third place. John Dwyer shot a sizzling eight-under-par 64 to win the professional prize.

Two competitions were played on the Saturday and Sunday of All Ireland Hurling Weekend. The Saturday competition was a Member and Guest Fourball Betterball Stableford and this was won by Paul Madigan and his guest Liam Delahunty on a countback from Pat and John Stakelum. Both partnerships scored a fine 46 points with the winners just edging out the Tipperary pairing on the back nine holes.
On Sunday there was an 18 holes singles stableford and again this competition ended in a tie for first prize with Aidan Keegan from Waterford just getting the better of Mick O’ Riordan from the K Club. Both players finished on 36 points.
Last Sunday saw a team representing the Captain, Alan Hoyne, taking on a team representing the Lady Captain, Ruth Mulholland. The format of the competition was an 18 holes singles stableford with the best 5 cards from each team to count for the overall prize. Victory was achieved by the Captain’s team who defeated the Lady Captain’s team by an emphatic margin on this occasion.
Best score of the day was achieved by the lady in form, Brenda O’ Sullivan, who together with Mark Logan scored animpressive 39 points to win both their respective categories. Presentation of prizes took place afterwards where the Lady Captain was presented with the wooden spoon.
This week will be a busy one at Mount Juliet with the big Pro-Am taking place on Wednesday prior to the Irish P.G.A. Championship which commences on Thursday and this will continue through to Sunday. The competition will be 72 holes stroke play over four days with the top 50 players plus ties qualifying for the final 36 holes on Saturday and Sunday and there is substantial money on offer for the overall leaders on Sunday. There should be some excellent golf played over the four days and spectators will be able to follow play over all four days.

Results Lady President’s(Mrs Mary Jones) Prize
Winner: Pauline McEnery (34)…………….36 points.
Second: Rita Garvey (23)…………………..36 points.
Third: Myra Phelan (23)………………….34 points.
Fourth: Brenda O’ Sullivan (26)……………34 points.
1st Nine: Geraldine Higgins (35)…………….18 points.
2nd Nine: Helen Scully (16)…………………..17 points.
Nearest Pin: Emer Foley.

Member/Guest Fourball Betterball Stableford Saturday 29th Sept
Winners;
Paul Madigan (3) Callan G.C.
Liam Delahunty (16) Rathdowney G.C….46 points

Runners-Up;
Pat Stakelum (18) Thurles G.C.
John Stakelum (14) Thurles G.C…………46 points.

Open 18 Holes Singles Stableford Sunday 30th September
Winner: Aidan Keegan (15) Waterford G.C………..36 points.
Runner-Up: Mick O’ Riordan (6) The K Club…………36 points.

Lady Captain’s Team v Captain’s Team Sunday 7th October
Lady Winner: Brenda O’ Sullivan (26)…………………..39 points.
Second: Myra Phelan (23)………………………….38 points.
Third: Marie Costello (16)………………………..34 points.
Men’s Winner: Mark Logan (11)…………………………..39 points.
Second: Ken MacDonald (26)……………………….38 points.
Third: John O’ Dwyer (5)…………………………..37 points.

Category 2 was won by Mark Logan with a consistent score of 35 points while Pat Stakelum had 37 points to win category 3. Pat had nines of 15 and 22 points respectively which was helped by scoring 4 points at the difficult 13th hole by virtue of his par.

The ladies section was won by Brenda O’ Sullivan, who has really struck form over the past few months. Brenda scored a fine 38 points with nines of 22 and 16 points respectively.

So as a result of the September Medal, which was the final competition in the Golfer of the Year, things took a dramatic turn before winners were decided. There were five players in the men’s section in contention up to the very end and either of these players could in theory have won. The long time leader in the men’s section, Neil Magee, was overtaken by John O’ Dwyer on the final day. John scored 5 points as a result of his 36 points in the September Medal and as a result tied with Neil at the top of the leader board. On a countback John won the title by virtue of scoring in more competitions than Neil, John scored in seven competitions whereas Neil accumulated his scores in four events. The final scores were both players ended with 37 points each.

The ladies section ended just as exciting as the men’s did, with Rebecca Nixon holding the trump card until the end and like the men’s section Brenda O’ Sullivan came with a late run to pip her at the winning post. Her victory on Sunday in the medal clinched the title for her. The final tally for both ladies was 64 points against 62 points. Congratulations and commiserations are extended to all four players concerned. The presentation of the medals for September along with the match play trophies and the G. O.Y. trophies will take place on Saturday 6th October at the annual team dinner.
Preparations for the P.G.A. Tournament from Oct 11th to 14th are taking place and any members who would like to help out with the running of the event should contact Sean Cotter, Sean O’ Neill or the golf shop.

Results September Monthly Medal Sunday 23rd September

Category 1. Hugh O’ Connor(7)………………….40 points.
Category 2. Mark Logan(11)…………………..…35 points.
Category 3. Pat Stakelum(19)…………………….37 points.
Ladies: Brenda O’ Sullivan(27)………………38 points.

Diary dates :

Saturday 29th September Member/Guest Fourball Stableford
Thursday 4th October Lady President’s Prize(Timesheet)

The Men’s division was evenly a more closely fought affair with three players returning 39 points and on a countback Liam Duggan just got the nod. Liam had the unfortunate experience to visit the water with his second shot on the 4th and failed to score with his provisional. He still managed to accumulate an impressive 18 points for his first nine holes. He added a further 21 points on the back nine holes which included a winning 25 foot putt on the last for a par. Liam beat William Kirby and Sean Brett on a countback for his first major prize at Mount Juliet.
Next Sunday sees the September Monthly Medal down for decision and this will decide the outcomes of both Golfer of the Year prizes. Neil Magee still holds a slender lead going into the final round of the men’s section. He looked a likely winner of last Saturday’s prize when he turned with 21 points after nine holes only to fade on the last nine holes by scoring a further 15 points.

Results President’s (Des Fitzgerald)Prizes Saturday 15th September 2012

Men’s Section

Ladies Section

The ladies final has been completed and after Brenda O’ Sullivan got the better of Helen Hedigan with Rebecca Nixon edging out Bernie Madigan all was set for an interesting match between two very much in-form players. Rebecca had to concede 16 shots to Brenda and this proved to be too much of a task as Brenda got home on the last green to seal a great win. Rebecca had the upper hand early in the match and turned two up after nine holes but relaxed her grip on the 11th and 12th and the match was all square after 16 holes. Brenda snatched the initiative on the long 17th and went one up and held her advantage on the 18th to capture the trophy.

After round 8 of the Summer League the table is headed by Ted Hoyne on 28 points. He is followed by Alan Hoyne on 23 points with Hugh O’ Connor and Paul Madigan on 22 and 21 points respectively.

On this Wednesday the September Ladies Invitation Day takes place and on Saturday 15th September the President’s(Des Fitzgerald) Prize takes place with Golfer of the Year points at stake. The last competition in the G.O.Y. is the September Medal on Sunday 23rd. The President’s Prize competition will be a timesheet and not a “shotgun” start and tee times can be booked on-line or by contacting the golf shop.

On Sunday last the Member/Guest series also continued with a 3 person rumble over 18 holes. On a day that Tipperary people might rather forget, the winning team were a family of Clonmel Golf Club members who kept the blue and gold colours flying by returning a winning score of 83 points. They were 4 shots clear of their nearest rivals, who are from just across the border in the Windgap area, and they returned a score of 79 points.

This week members are reminded that the Autumn maintenance is taking place which is due to finish today, Wednesday, and this will have the course in pristine condition for the President‘s, (Des Fitzgerald) Prize due to take place on 15th September.

Results Summer Series Wednesday 15th August

Winners:
James Fitzpatrick (9) Rathsallagh G.C.
Paul Sheill (16)
John Fanning (12)
Gavin Flood (12)……………………..93 points.

Member/Guest 18 Hole Rumble Sunday 19th August

Winners:
Frank Smyth (10) Clonmel G.C.
Gavin Smyth (+1)
Mary Smyth (15)……………………..83 points.

Second:
Alan Hearne (7)
Paul Madigan (3)
Bernie Madigan (12)…………………79 points.

Best score of the day was returned by Brian Blanchfield who scored a magnificent 44 points in the morning round. This prize looked to be in safe hands but Bryan Higgins almost caught the clubhouse leader in the afternoon by scoring a great 43 points. It was testament to the standard of golf played that some scores of 38 points failed to get among the prizewinners.

In the ladies section the lady in form, Rebecca Nixon, had another dream round by returning 42 points. Fresh from winning the Lady Captain’s Prize some weeks ago she has reduced her handicap by six shots in the past few weeks and hopes to reduce it further by season’s end.

Last week the August Ladies Invitation Day took place and the competition was a 3 person team event with only 3 shots separating the top four teams. The winning team was led by the Lady Captain, Ruth Mulholland, who won by a shot from Aileen Magee’s team with Kathleen Gaffney’s team and Margaret Clandillon’s team in third and fourth place.

The member/Guest Fourball last Thursday was won by the Callan based pairing of John O’ Dwyer and Sean Brett and they had four points to spare over Peter O’ Flaherty and John O’ Neill.

Next Sunday is another Member/Guest competition day with a three person rumble scheduled for play.

Results Member/Guest Fourball Thursday 9th August

Winner

John O’ Dwyer (5)
Sean Brett (10)……………………….45 points

Second

Peter O’ Flaherty (12)
John O’ Neill (17)Waterford Castle…..41 points

Results August Ladies Invitation Day Wednesday 8th August

Winners

Ruth Mulholland(12)
Marian Booth(11) The Heritage G.C.
Noreen O’ Grady(13) The K Club…………..69 points.

Second

Aileen Magee(28)
Siobhan Kearney(22) Greenore G.C.
Mgt. McNulty(25)Milltown G.C……………68 points.

Third

Kathleen Gaffney(22)
Nano Brennan(6)Kilkenny G.C.
Nuala Crotty(12)Kilkenny G.C………………67 points.

Fourth

Mgt. Clandillon(26)
Eliz. McCalmont(32)
Gillian Kelly(24) Powerscourt G.C…………..66 points.

Results Lady Captain’s Prize to Men

Winner: Brian Blanchfield(12)…………………..44 points.
Second: Bryan Higgins(25)………………………43 points.
Third: Chris McHugh(16)………………………40 points.
Fourth: John Thompson(11)………………………38 points.
Best Gross: John O’Dwyer(5)………………………..31 points.
Past Capt: Tom Duggan(9)…………………………. 35points.
1st Nine: Alan Hoyne(7)……………………………21 points
2nd Nine: Owen Phelan(9)…………………………..21 points.

Captain’s Prize to the Ladies

Winner: Rebecca Nixon(15)………………………42 points.
Second: Ruth Mulholland(12)…………………….37 points.
Third: Brenda O’ Sullivan(29)…………………..36 points.
Best Gross: Bernie Madigan( )………………………
Past Capt. :Helen Comerford(22)…………………….30 points.
1st Nine: Sandra Carr(19)……………………………21 points.
2nd Nine: Lucia Ahern O’Flaherty(15)………………17 points.

The McCalmont match play has reached the semi-final stages with Mark Delahunty to play the winners of Alan Hearne and Bill Fanning in the top half. In the bottom half John O’ Dwyer plays Frank Smyth with the final scheduled to finish before September.

The final of the ladies match play section will see Rebecca Nixon take on Brenda O’ Sullivan after both players came through their semi-finals with Rebecca beating Bernie Madigan and Brenda accounting for Helen Hedigan.

The Golfer of the Year competitions are slowlydrawing to a conclusion and the tables look like this after the completion of the July Medal. Neil Magee leads the men’s section on 32 points with Michael Collins in close pursuit on 29 points. Michael, in turn, is just a point ahead of John O’ Dwyer with Sean Brett and Owen Phelan bringing up fourth and fifth positions
The Ladies section is headed by Rebecca Nixon who is 5 points clear of Bernie Madigan and is in a very strong position to win the trophy outright. In third place comes Lady Captain, Ruth Mulholland, with Amelia Drumm and Brenda O’ Sullivan filling the minor places.

This week sees the August Ladies Invitation Day on Wednesday with a Member/Guest Fourball Stableford down for play on Thursday. Then on Sunday next the “Vice/Versa” Captains Day will be decided with “shotgun” starts at 9 am and 2 pm for intending competitors.

Results Residential Trophy Saturday 4th August

Winner: Richard O’ Halloran (20)………………38 points.

Second: David Kelly (5)…………………………38 points.

Junior: Laurence Sheilds Jr. (22)……………….39 points.

Ladies Section

Winner: Catherine O’ Halloran (24)……………..29 points.

Last Sunday saw a Member/Guest Scotch Mixed Foursomes played with a good turnout of players despite various other activities in London and Thurles. This competition proved to be a success for husband and wife pairings who filled the top three spots in the competition. The winners were Paul and Bernie Madigan and they just prevailed from John and Brenda O’ Sullivan by virtue of a better back nine holes. The winners had 42 points made up of two nines of 21 points each and they got through against the O’ Sullivans nines of 22 and 20 points. In third place came Alan and Alison Hoyne on 40 points.

Next weekend sees the popular Residential Trophy played for on Saturday with the Members Summer League resuming on Sunday. The August Ladies Invitation Day will be held on Wednesday 8th August and a Member/Guest Fourball to be held on Thursday 9th August.

Results Summer Series team Event 25th July

Winners;
Gavin Flood (12) Rathsallagh G.C.
Paul Sheill (18)
James Fitzpatrick (9)
John Fanning (12)……………………..101 points.

Second:
Dave Kelliher (18) Bellewstown G.C.
Barry Kretsch (3)
Mike Finnegan (10)
Stephen Finnegan (20)…………………91 points.

Results Member /Guest Scotch Mixed Foursomes Sunday 29th July

Winners:
Paul Madigan (3)
Bernie Madigan (12)……………….42 points.

Second:
John O’ Sullivan (21)
Brenda O’ Sullivan (28) ……………42 points.

Third:
Alan Hoyne (8)
Alison Hoyne (36)…………………..40 points.

In the ladie’s section victory went to Brenda O’ Sullivan who beat Lady Captain, Ruth Mulholland, by three shots.
Last Tuesday saw the continuation of the Juniors Competition over 18 holes and this was won by Ned Kirwan with a good score of 39 points and he was 3 shots clear of this year’s Junior Captain, Luke Donnelly, who scored 36 points. It is intended to run the junior competitions on Tuesdays right through until the end of August.

Next Sunday sees the next round of the Member/Guest series with an 18 holes Scotch Mixed Foursomes down for decision. Bookings for this competition can be made online or by phoning the Golf Shop.

Results Member/Guest 18 Holes Stableford Saturday 21st July

Men

Winner:  Shane Garvey (13) Knightsbrook G.C…………37 points.
Second:  Jim Pender (6) The Castle G.C…………………36 points.
Third:  John O’ Dwyer (6)……………………………..36 points.

Ladies

Winner: Brenda O’ Sullivan (29)………………………35 points.
Second: Ruth Mulholland (12)…………………………32 points.

Junior Competition Tuesday 17th July

Winner: Ned Kirwan (22)………………………………..39 points.
Second: Luke Donnelly (6)………………………………36 points.

The best score in the men’s section was returned by Michael Collins with 40 points. Michael, playing very steadily, scored 20 points on each nine and beat John Keane by a shot to win Category 1. Category 2 was won by James E. Brett with 37 points and he beat his cousin James J. Brett by a shot also. James E had nines of 14 and 23 points respectively and he covered the back nine holes in a very impressive 39 shots which was three over par gross. Category 3 went to Ronan Baird who won his section with 34 points and may have improved his overall total but for having failed to score on the 7th and 18th holes. The C.S.S. for the men was 35 points and was 36 points for the ladies.

Last Wednesday saw a Member/Guest 3 Person Rumble played and this proved to be an easy victory for John O’ Dwyer and his guests who had 3 shots to spare over their nearest rivals.

In the Club Matchplay, the ladies section has reached the semi-final stage with Helen Hedigan pitted against Brenda O’ Sullivan and Rebecca Nixon down to play Bernie Madigan. These matches will be played before the end of July. The men’s section has reached the quarter-final stage with Alan Hearne playing Billy Fanning, David Kelly v Mark Delahunty, John O’ Dwyer v Brian Nevin and John Thornton v Frank Smyth. These matches are due to be played by the end of July also.

Results Member/Guest 3 Person Rumble

Winners:
John O’ Dwyer (6)
Denis Ryan (15)  Woodenbridge G.C.
Dan Byrne (19)  Woodenbridge G.C……….80 points.

Second:
Frank Smyth(15)
Tony O’ Brien(15) Clonmel G.C.
Gus Grace(8)………………………………77 points.

July Monthly Medal

Category 1. Michael Collins (11)………………..40 points.
Category 2. James E. Brett (15)………………….37 points.
Category 3. Ronan Baird (19)……………………34 points.
Ladies: Rebecca Nixon (18)…………………45 points.

Next Saturday sees another Member/Guest competition down for play with an 18 holes singles competition scheduled and the Summer League for members resumes again on Sunday next.

Best score on the day was in the men’s section with 39 points winning the prestigious prize and the ladie’s section was won with 34 points. The conditions on the day, after all the wet weather, made the course play very long with no run on the ball. The course, as usual, was in pristine condition and as is obvious from the scoring it suited the longer hitters on the day. Gavin Pierce returned the winning score of 39 points to clinch Alan Hoyne’s Prize on a countback from Neil Magee. Gavin had a gross 74 which is a total of two over par for the white course. On his first nine holes Gavin dropped three shots to par on the 1st, 6th and 9th holes and birdied the long 5th to be out in 38 shots which was converted to 18 points stableford. On his back nine holes he had a birdie on the 12th but dropped a shot on the 15th and scored pars the rest of the back nine holes which counted for a further 21 points. Neil had nines of 19 points and 20 points respectively and but for a double bogie, six, on the final hole would have claimed the first prize.

In the ladies section Rebecca Nixon secured victory, much to her surprise, with 34 points. Rebecca failed to score points at the 1st, 4th, 10th and 15th but scored steadily for the remaining holes to clinch victory and win Ruth Mulholland’s lovely prize. Geraldine Higgins had a winning score of 35 points but because she had not the required number of cards returned beforehand she was awarded the second prize. In third place came Nora Deane on 32 points. A very enjoyable social day was rounded off by a dinner for over 200 people in the Hunter’s Yard in a specially erected marquee for the occasion.

Results Captains’ (Alan Hoyne & Ruth Mulholland) Saturday 7th July

Men’s Section:

Winner: … Gavin Pierce(5)…………………39 points.
Second…. Neil Magee(10)…………………39 points.
Cat. 1..……Owen Phelan(10)……………….37 points.
Cat 2.……..Bill Fanning(15)………………..35 points.
Cat 3.……..Ronan Murphy(25)……………..35 points.
Gross……..Gary Walsh(Scr)..………………32 points.
Past Capt….Billy Murphy((21).……………34 points.
1st Nine……Noel O’ Halloran(14)..…………19 points.
2nd Nine……John E. Hegarty(12).…………..19 points.
Par 3’s……..Finbar O’ Neill(15).……………10 points.
Par 5’s……..Shay Quinn(14) ….…………….13 points.
Visitors…….Ben Halpenny(17).…………….35 points.

Ladies Section:

Winner:…….Rebecca Nixon(18)…………….34 points.
Second:…….Geraldine Higgins(36)………….35 points.
Third:………Nora Deane(13)………………..32 points.
Gross:………Fiona Corbett(6)………………..24 points.
Past Capt…..Brona Reidy(13).……………….31 points.
1st Nine…….Ann Daly(34).…………………..18 points.
2nd Nine……..Paula Moore(35)……………….19 points.
Par 5’s……….Helen Comerford(22)…………..11 points.
Par 3’s..……..Joan McHugh(36)……………….12 points.

Fixtures Diary:

This Wednesday is a Member/Guest day with a three person rumble scheduled to take place and next Sunday the July Monthly Medal which carries Golfer of the Year points will be played.

The ladies section was won by new member, Laila Balacuit, with 35 points and she was three shots clear of Fiona Corbett with Lucia O’ Flaherty in third spot. The nines were won by Sandra Carr, a daughter in law of J. B., and Helen Comerford. This is Laila’s first win at Mount Juliet and we wish her well for the reminder of the 2012 season. The perpetual trophy and prizes were presented to the winners later that evening by Georgia Carr, a grandaughter of J.B.

The Leinster Boys under 15 Team recorded their second win in the round robin series by beating Carlow Boys but have suffered defeat at the hands of Coolattin and Gowran Park in their quest for honours. The panel consists of Luke Donnelly, Conor Mulholland, John Hession, Tim Howes, Jack Collins, Ned Kirwan and Brian Staunton.

Results J. B. Carr Trophy Sunday 24th June

Men:
Winner; Neil Magee (11)……………………….39 points.
Second: Joe Healy (10)…………………………37 points.
Third: Owen Phelan (11)……………………..36 points.
1st Nine: Gary Walsh (Scr)………………………20 points.
2nd Nine: Hugh O’ Connor (6)……………………20 points.

Ladies:
Winner: Laila Balacuit (36)……………………..35 points.
Second: Fiona Corbett (6)……………………….32 points.
Third: Lucia O’ Flaherty (15)………………….31 points.
1st Nine: Sandra Carr (17)………………………..20 points.
2nd Nine: Helen Comerford (22)………………….18 points.

Next Sunday 1st July sees the next round of the Summer League down for decision and tee times can be booked through the usual channels and members are reminded that the following weekend sees the Captains’ Prizes scheduled with two “shotgun” starts at 9a.m. and 2p.m. on Saturday7th July and some tee times on Friday for players who are unable to play on Saturday.

The Member/Guest fourball was won by two Clonmel players with a score of 43 points and they had a shot in hand over their nearest opponents.

Next Sunday sees another “major” down for decision with the J. B. Carr Trophy for men and ladies scheduled to be played for. This competition will carry valuable golfer of the year points for competitors.

Results Competitions Wednesday 13th June

Senior Scratch Tournament

Winner……Lee McMullan(1) Blessington Lakes G.C……..75 gross

Junior Scratch Tournnament

Winner……John Howard(5)Raffeen Creek G.C…………….75 gross

Intermediate Scratch Tournament

Winner…….Mark Tobin(11) Monkstown G.C………………86 gross

Member/Guest Fourball Stableford

Winners……Gus Grace (8)
Maurice Fehilly (12) Clonmel G.C……………..43 points.

Mount Juliet Intermediate, Junior & Senior Scratch Cup Results

Senior Winner
Lee McMillan (1) 75 Gross : Blessington Lakes Golf Club

Junior
John Howard (5) 75 Gross (on the back nine) : Ratheen Creek Golf Club

Intermediate
Mark Tobin (11) 86 gross (on the back nine) : Monkstown Golf Club

CSS : 75

The Golfer of the Year in both categories is now entering a crucial time for players to gain valuable points with the J. B. Carr Trophy to be played for on Sunday 24th June followed by the Captains’ Prizes on the weekend of the 8th July. At the moment the men’s section is being led by John O’ Dwyer with 21 points. In second place come Sean Brett and Finbar O’ Neill some seven points behind, with five players in third place on 12 points, Kevin McCartan, Alan Hearne, Hugh O’ Connor, Brian Blanchfield and Tim Kavanagh, but this leader board could rapidly change by Mid-July.

In the ladies section the leader on 31 points is Amelia Drumm who is closely pursued by Bernie Madigan on 30 points. Brenda O’ Sullivan has 25 points in third place with Ruth Mulholland, Rebecca Nixon and Ann Marie McEvoy filling the remaining three places with 22, 20 and 19 points respectively.

The last team standing in inter club competitions made their exit recently when the ladies Miele Fourball Team lost to near neighbours, Gowran Park G.C. Unfortunately for the club it means another year without a pennant that is planning to be very elusive to win.

Two competitions were decided in the past week with the June Ladies Invitation Day played on Wednesday last. This was a Fourball Betterball event and the winning combination of Laura Mahony and Aileen Condon had three shots to spare from their nearest opposition, Ruth Mulholland and Susan Hill. They in turn just pipped Kathleen Gaffney and Phil Doyle on a countback with Bernie Madigan and Mandy O’ Brien finishing in fourth spot.

Last Sunday the third round of the Summer League was played and this resulted in a win for Alan Hearne who returned 36 points to win by a shot from Paul Madigan with Gary Walsh in third spot three shots further adrift. Alan had nines of 17 and 19 points respectively with Paul scoring 17 and 18 points on each nine holes.

Results June Ladies Invitation Day

Winners:
Laura Mahony (17)
Aileen Condon (18) Malahide G.C…………39 points.
Second:
Ruth Mulholland (12)
Susan Hill (36) Achill G.C…………………36 points.
Third:
Kathleen Gaffney (21)
Phil Doyle (12) Kilkenny G.C……………..36 points.
Fourth:
Bernie Madigan (12)
Mandy O’ Brien (23) Callan G.C……………34 points.

Summer League Sunday 10th June

Winner: Alan Hearne(7)……………………………..36 points.

Second: Paul Madigan(3)……………………………35 points.

Third: Gary Walsh(Scr)…………………………….32 points.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Mount Juliet Luxury Hotel Ireland

On a lovely summer-like day with a very large entry for the coveted trophy scoring was as hot as the day. Apart from Finbar who readily won the men’s section there was good scoring from Brian Blanchfield and Chris McHugh who filled the runners-up and third spots with 37 points each in this section. Finbar had nines of 18 and 20 points respectively in his very steady round and with a C.S.S. of 34 points for the day has reduced his handicap by a couple of shots.

Fiona, who is new member to the club and is sister of Amelia Drumm, certainly made her mark with a wonderful round of 77 gross for nines of 19 and 20 points respectively. Fiona had two shots to spare from her nearest rival, Brenda O’Sullivan who returned 37 points and would have won her section handsomely but for Fiona’s intervention. As in the men’s section C.S.S for the day in the ladie’s section was also 34 points. The presentation of prizes for this competition and for the monthly medals of March, April and May will take place on June 24th.

History was made last week with the first ever underage team to represent Mount Juliet taking part in the under 15 age Boys Leinster championships. This is a round robin qualifying event with teams representing Kilkenny, Gowran Park, Carlow and Coolattin in the local regional qualifying group. In the first round Mount Juliet had a comprehensive victory over near neighbours Kilkenny and now will play the remaining clubs in their group and hopefully go forward to the next winners group section. The panel consisted of Luke Donnelly, John Hession, Jack Cullen, Brian Staunton, Ned Kirwan, Tim Howes and Conor Mulholland and is managed by Jeff Howes and congratulations is deserved to the whole team.
Round 2 of the Summer League resumes this Sunday with tee times available from 08.30 to 11.00hrs.

Results Jack Nicklaus Trophy Sunday 27th May

Men

Winner; Finbar O’ Neill(16)……………………38 points.
Second: Brian Blanchfield(13)…………………37 points.
Third: Chris McHugh(16).……………………..37 points.
1st Nine. Pat Doyle(14)………………………….19 points.
2nd Nine. Ml. Collins(11)………………………..20 points.

Ladies

Winner: Fiona Corbett(7)….……………………..39 points.
Second; Brenda O’ Sullivan(31)…………………37 points.
Third; Brona Reidy(13)…………………………….32 points.
1st Nine; Helen Hedigan(20)…………………….17 points.
2nd Nine; Bernie Madigan(12)……………………19 points.

Results Member/Guest Fourball Stableford Sunday 20th May

Winners
Niall Magee (10)
Ronan Kelly (8) Ashbourne G.C. ………….45 points.

Runners-Up
Sandra Carr (17)
Darcey Carr (6) Milltown G.C………………43 points.

Results; May Monthly Medal

Category 1. Hugh O’ Connor(6)……………..40 points.

Category 2. John Hegarty(12)…………………33 points.

Category 3. Brian Nevin(17)……………………33 points

Ladies. Amelia Drumm(17)……………….33 points.

Results; Ladies Invitation Day

Winners: Catherine O’ Halloran(29)
Susan O’ Loughlin(19)
Elizabeth McCalmont(35)
Elaine Lawlor(33)………………..88 points.

Second: Pauline McEnery(34)
Ann Marie Byrne(33)
Helen Cosgrove(14)
Liz Hurley(29)…………………….82 points.

Third: Helen Costello(6)
Lucia Ahern O Flaherty(14)
Liz beatty(15)
Joan Kelly(14)…………………….81 points.

McCalmont Matchplay Draw

Men

Alan Hearne v Padraic O’Connor;
Alan Hoyne v John Keane;
Bill Fanning v Neil Magee;
Bryan Phelan v Maurice Nelligan;
Liam Lenehan v David Kelly;
John O’Malley v Ronan Murphy;
Mark Delahunty v Finbarr O’Neill;
Sean Brett v Brian Blanchfield;
John O’Dwyer v John Browne;
Peter O’Flaherty v Peter Gray;
Michael Coughlan v Brian Nevin;
Hugh O’Connor v John O’Connor;
Liam Collins v John Thornton;
Peter Quigley v Pat Doyle;
Andrew Nixon v Pat Fitzpatrick ;
Shay Quinn v Frank Smyth

Ladies

Lynda Hickey v Myra Phelan;
Helen Hedigan v Ruth Skehan;
Sarah Gleeson v Aileen MaGee;
Ruth Mulholland v Brenda O’Sullivan;
Emer Foley v Rebecca Nixon;
Catherine O’Halloran v Mary Cotter;
Anne Daly V Helen Walsh;
Bernie Madigan v Helen Scully

Alan Hearne scored nines of 20 and 19 points respectively for a round of 39 points and in the process gained some valuable points in his quest to regain Golfer of the Year. In category 2 , Shay Quinn, led the field with two nines of 19 points and this was equalled by Lynda Hickey in the ladies section. Lynda scored nines of 18 and 20 points respectively in her fine round.

The draw for the match-play stages is posted on the notice board and full details will appear in next week’s edition. The first round of the match-play will have to be completed by 31st May with the top named player to contact his/her opponent.
On the inter club scene two more teams unfortunately made their exit in the first round with the defeat of the Leinster Men’s Fourball team at the hands of Waterford and the Barton Cup team going down to neighbours Callan. Both teams were decisively beaten in their respective matches on a scoreline of 4/1.

This week the annual Spring maintenance programme is going ahead so the course will not re-open until this Thursday for play.

Results April Monthly Medal Sunday 15th April

Category 1. Alan Hearne(8)……………. 39 points
Category 2. Shay Quinn(15)…………….38 points
Category 3. Brian Nevin(17)……………35 points
Ladies. Lynda Hickey(21)………………  38 points

The other competition which was confined to members and which was concluded last Sunday was the final round of the Winter League. The last round of the competition on Sunday was won by Ted Hoyne with a fine score of 40 points. In second place on 38 points came this year’s captain, Alan Hoyne, who was three shots clear of third placed, Tim Kavanagh, on 35 points. The league proved to be a repeat win for last year’s winner and long time leader Alan Hearn. Alan won the overall from Frank Kelly with this year’s captain Alan Hoyne in third place.

Next Sunday sees the McCalmont Cup match play get underway with the running of the April Monthly Medal and 48 qualifiers will emerge from next Sunday to do battle over the next few months for the trophies. This year the format will be slightly changed as there will be two competitions in the match play event. Thirty two men will qualify for the match play stages and there will be a separate competition for sixteen ladies who also qualify on scores returned. In previous years the ladies and men did battle for the same trophy but because of the keen interest shown, the Committee decided to run a separate competition simultaneously for each category and both of them will carry Golfer of the Year points. This is the second round of the monthly medal competitions and this medal will also carry G. O.Y. points for both the ladies and men. The early leaders in the G.O.Y. are Kevin McCartan and Imelda Drumm.

Results Winter Series Final Wednesday 4th April

Winner: Liam O’ Donoghue (19) Limerick G. C.……….. 40 points.

Second: Tom McDarby (18) Limerick G.C………………   36 points.

Third: John Nevin (14) Thurles G.C……………………….  35 points.

The first team to play was the Ladies Challenge Cup team who played Wexford ladies at Borris G. C. and they came out the wrong side of a 3/2 result. The next team to play last Saturday was in the Duggan Cup and they were pitted against the men of Callan G.C. with the advantage of the odd match of five pairings favouring Callan. Sad to relate the Mount Juliet team were comprehensively beaten and they suffered a “white wash” losing all five matches in the competition. This left the Irish Mixed Foursomes team to fly the flag on Sunday and they did this in style albeit by only the narrowest margin on a scoreline of 3/2. This team played Gowran G.C. with the advantage of the odd match falling to Mount Juliet. When the home team lost two of the three matches played at Mount Juliet the signs were ominous but the away pairings of Richard Duggan/Myra Phelan with husband/ wife pairing of Andrew and Rebecca Nixon proved to be formidable opposition for Gowran. While Richard and Myra won on the 17th Andrew and Rebecca had to go to the 20th hole before clinching the vital victory. This team now progress to the next round to play the winners of Carlow and Athy.

Last Sunday saw another competition in the Member/Guest series and the format was a team of four with two scores to count on the first seventeen holes and three scores to count on the last hole. This was won on a countback by a combination of players form Callan, Kilkenny and Mount Juliet with 97 points who just beat the Thurles based team by a better last nine holes.

Next Sunday sees the final round of the Winter Series for 2011/2012 with a handsome prize on offer to the overall winner.

Results Member/Guest Four Person Team Event
Sunday 1st April

Frank Murray had nines of 16 and 19 points respectively and dropped two shots to par on the back nine, at the 13th and 18th holes. Tim scored 18 points and 16 points and blanked the par fives, 5th and 10th.
In the ladies’ medal competition victory went to last year’s Golfer of the Year, Amelia Drumm, who off her new handicap of 18 for 2012 still scored a fine 37 points for victory. She was four shots clear of her nearest opponent Myra Phelan and Amelia has begun where she left off in 2011- on a winning note. Amelia scored 18 and 19 points respectively for each nine holes.

Another notable feat was performed by Ray Moore who had his first ever hole in one on the 11th where he played a seven iron tee shot to complete a great feat, unfortunately it did not encourage him sufficiently to score for the remaining seven holes. However he had plenty of friends awaiting his arrival in the clubhouse to toast his unique achievement.
Next Sunday there is a Member/Guest 4 person team event and tee times can be booked for this competition on-line or by a phone call to the shop.

Results Monthly Medal Sunday 25th March

Category 1. Frank Murray (5)…………………35 pts.(C.S.S. 33pts)
Category 2. Kevin McCartan(14)…………….39 pts.
Category 3. Tim Kavanagh(17)……………….34 pts.
Ladies Amelia Drumm(18)………………………37 pts.(C.S.S. 34pts)

Last Wednesday the penultimate round of the Winter Series was played and this was a 3 person rumble with honours going to the  Wexford team of Louis Flanagan, Larry Cranford and Fran Thomas. There was a small turnout of players for this competition and the winners have now qualified for the Grand Final. The last round of the present Winter Series will take place next Wednesday 28^th March and this competition will be a four person team event with the winners making up the last places for the Grand Final. Reservation for this competition can be made at the golf shop in Mount Juliet.

Next Sunday sees the first of the monthly medals down for decision and this competition heralds the arrival of the first round of the Golfer of the Year  for ladies and men with tee times filling up rapidly.

Results Member/Guest Fourball Stableford Sunday 18^th March.

Winners
Tom Butler (20)

Ray Kent (8) Gowran Park G.C ………… 47 points

Second:
Pat Stakelum (17)

John Nevin (14) Thurles G.C ……………. 44 points

Third:       
Stephen O’ Reilly (8)

Ger O’ Reilly (36) Coolattin G.C ………… 44 points

Winter Series Wednesday 14^th March – 3 Person Rumble.

Winners:     

Louis Flanagan (17) Wexford G.C.

Larry Cranford (14)

Fran Thomas (8)……………………..77 points.

Last Sunday saw the introduction of new scorecards and this card now incorporates a change of the indices for most holes in both the ladies and mens round of play. The change came about on a return of evidence of 1,663 rounds of golf computed from resurns off the white tees over the past seven years. The most notable change will be the indices of the 3^rd and 6^th holes which have been changed dramatically from a high index to low and vice-versa. The changes have been favourably received by members who played last Sunday in the Winter League.

Next Sunday sees another Member/Guest Fourball Stableford competition down for decision with tee times available on line or by phoning the golf shop.

In the Member/Guest Fourball competition last Sunday the winning pair of Sean O’ Neill and Liam Duggan scored 47 points to win by two shots from another man in form, John O’ Dwyer and his wife Margaret. In third place came Bill Connolly and Billy Fanning with 43 points. The winners turned with 22 points and added a further 25 points on their back nine with birdies on the 12^th and 17^th holes. They both dropped a shot to par on the 15^th but this was the only blemish in a very consistent round of golf by the pair.

Last week saw a further round of the Winter Series and a small entry saw Paul Madigan emerge victorious with 34 points for his 18 holes. In tricky conditions Paul was steady as ever throughout his round.

Next Sunday the Winter League for members resumes with tee times available from 9.30a.m. for intending participants.

Results member/Guest Fourball Stableford Sunday 4^th March

Winners:

Liam Duggan (12)…Callan G.C.

Sean O’ Neill (14)…47 points.

Second: 

John O’ Dwyer (5)

Margaret O’ Dwyer (34) Callan G.C…45 points.

Third:    

Bill Fanning (14)

Bill Connolly(14)…43points.

The winners had an excellent combination of three under par gross, 69 shots, to clinch the first prize with nines of 23 and 24 points respectively. They failed to drop a shot to par in their round and had birdies on the fifth and seventeenth holes, both par 5’s, with a two on the par 3 fourteenth.

Next Sunday sees the resumption of the Winter League for members and this is followed by a nine hole competition for newly elected members with a social get-together in Kendalls.

Results Member/Guest Fourball Stableford Sun 19^th Feb

Winners

John O’ Dwyer (5)

Paul Cashin (10) Callan Golf Club                      47 points

Second

Liam Duggan (12) Callan Golf Club

Fr. Pat Duggan (18) Kilkenny Golf Club          47 points

Third

Michael Collins (11)

Joe Mulcare (17) Waterford Golf Club            46 points

On the competition front, a Member/Guest Fourball Stableford took place on Sunday with a good entry including some new members featuring.  The scoring was excellent with all prize winning scores exceeding the 40 points target off 3/4 handicap allowance.  The winning pair of Denis Treacy and Dean Smithwick scored 45 points which included a bonus point on the 1st hole.  They had nines of 22 and 23 points and just edged out the Callan pairing of Sean Brett and John Dwyer.

Denis and Dean finished their last nine holes in style with Denis scoring four points for his birdie on the long 13th and Dean finishing with two fours on the 17th and 18th for a further six points.   The Callan pairing also came with a run on the last nine holes as well with a further 23 points which included four birdies, three from Sean Brett and one from John O’Dwyer.  They only just failed by a shot to overhaul the winners.  In third place came the father and son pairing of Tony and Michael Collins with a score of 42 points.

The popular Winter League for members resumes next Sunday with tee times from 10am onwards.

Results: Member/Guest Fourball Stableford Sunday 22nd January

Winners       Denis Treacy (10) & Dean Smithwick (12) Kilkenny             45 points

Second        Sean Brett (10) & John O’Dwyer (5) Callan                       44 points

Third            Michael Collins (11) &Tony Collins (14) Tramore                42 points

This is also the first year that Mount Juliet has a Junior Captain and Luke Donnelly has the honour of filling this role for 2012.  Luke, who plays off an impressive handicap of 6 for his tender age of 14 years, also joined both Captains for his “drive-in” as well and drove his tee shot long and straight.

The presentation of prizes and formal induction of all three Captains took place in The Loft of the Hunters Yard after the “drive-in” and this was followed by a very enjoyable dinner in Kendals Restaurant which ran late into the night.  The new Captain, Alan Hoyne, alluded to the many moments of enjoyment he had as a young boy growing up near Mount Juliet and he felt very proud to be the first native of Thomastown to be elected as Captain of the famous course.

The competition, which was a stroke play event, produced some excellent scoring, especially on the back nine holes.  The par of 36 for each nine being equalled or bettered by a number of partnerships.  Bill Connolly had the distinction of scoring a Hole in One on the 14^th where he used a seven iron to obtain this unique achievement.

Results 2 Person Scramble

1^st Nine:

Winners         Sean O’Neill (15) & Bryan Phelan (15)                             29

Second          Catherine O’Halloran (29) & Richard O’Halloran (20)           29.2

Third              Tommy Duggan (8) & Jo Duggan (20)                            30.4

2^nd Nine: 

Winners         Paul Carty (20) & Anthony Gore-Grimes (23)                    27.4

Second          Frank Kelly (24) & Bryan Higgins (24)                             28.4

Third              Barry Hoyne (12) & Chris Clancy (13)                            29

Hole in One    Bill Connolly @ 14th

Last Sunday saw the Member/Guest competition over 16 holes for hampers. The format was a fourball stableford and the winners scored an impressive 40 points. They were two shots clear of their nearest rivals who scored 38 points each. Conditions were good for scoring with no rain but the course played long after the heavy rainfall on Friday. The winners, Gerard Magee and his guest, Paul Lawlor, scored 23 points for the first nine holes and added a further 17 points on the last seven holes. The runners-up also scored 23 points on their first nine holes but could only manage a further 15 points on their homeward journey. This was sufficient to beat the third pairing on a countback.

Results Winter Series

Winners

Shay Quinn (14) (The Heritage)

James Farrell (7) (Kilkenny)

Lar Ryan (8) (Rathdowney) 78 points

Member/Guest Fourball Stableford

Winners
Gerard Magee (18)
Paul Lawlor (8) 40 points

Second
Sean O’Neill (14)
Liam Duggan (12) 38 points

Third
Alan Hearn (9)
Maurice Neligan (11) 38 points

On Saturday last the Member/Guest competition was won by Robert Brassil on a countback from Ted Hoyne with both players returning 35 points. The weather on Saturday was testing for all golfers and it was a precursor for Sunday’s weather. With the testing conditions the C.S.S. for Saturday was 34 points.

This Thursday sees the resumption of the Winter Series and the competition will be an 18 holes singles which is an open to all golfers and tee times can be reserved by phoning the golf shop.

Results Wednesday 19th October 18 hole Singles

Winner Alan Hearne (9) 37 points

Second Tom Mulcahy (17) 35 points

Results Saturday 22nd October 18 hole Singles

Winner Robert Brassil (3) (Rathsallagh) 35 points

Second Ted Hoyne (9) (Gowran Park) 35 points

He beat a select field of his professional compatriots to end his year on top of the pile. This is his sixth year as a professional, having won the Irish Amateur Championship and the PGA Ulster Championship, on the way to the biggest win of his career so far. Both Trainor and McGovern led the field on Saturday after they both had recorded rounds of four under par, 68’s, over the blue championship course. Trainor started his round with eight straight pars on Sunday before he birdied the par four 9th. He dropped two shots on the 11th and 12th before he finished his round with three further birdies on the 13th, 14th and 17th holes for a two under round of 70 shots. In the meantime, McGovern, who lost a ball on the 4th and try as he might could not catch Trainor to finish his round with a 74 which was two over par and this was enough to earn him second place on Sunday. Jimmy Bolger, Kilkenny, finished joint third with David Higgins on Sunday for a good week-end.

The Pro-Am on Friday was contested by 33 teams of four comprising of a professional and three amateur golfers. This event was won by a team led by Old Conna professional, Donal Gleeson, who beat the Jimmy Bolger led team on a countback. Both teams having scored 95 points and were 3 shots clear of the team led by Greenore professional, Robert Giles. The evening concluded with a dinner and presentation of prizes in Kendals Restaurant with some lively and funny entertainment from Barry Murphy of Apres Match fame.

On the amateur scene last week there were two competitions played and the first one was the opening round of the popular Winter Series. This proved to be benefit for some members of Thurles Golf Club as they won the first two prizes. The winners had a great score of 99 points and they had 5 shots to spare from their fellow club members.

The last of the Ladies Invitation Days was held on Wednesday and the format was a Three Person Rumble. This proved to be a successful outing for the team led by Brona Reidy who had a convincing win with 71 points. Brona’s partners were Edel Banim (11) from Woodbrook G.C. and Maeve O’Reilly (12) from Powerscourt G.C.

. ………. – ………. .

Results Winter Series 4 Person Team Event

Winners

Pat Stakelum (18) Thurles G.C.

Pat McEvoy (13)

John Nevin (15)

John McGrath (15) 99points

Second

Jack O’Keeffe (15) Thurles G.C.

V. O’Keeffe (17)

Eamon O’Kennedy (12)

David O’Kennedy (13) 94 points

Results Pro-Am Friday 14th October

Winners

Donal Gleeson, Old Conna

Hugh O’Connor (6)

Helen Hedigan (20)

Geraldine Forde (32) 95 points

Second

Jimmy Bolger, Kilkenny

Bill Connolly (16)

P.J. Butler (15)

Billy Fanning (14) 95 points

Third

Robert Giles, Greenore

Alan Hoyne (7)

Mark Adamson (10)

Gary Stewart (6) 92 points

This week-end sees the final of the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet with the top Irish Professional Golfers playing for the Order of Merit title which will be defended by the 2010 winner, David Higgins, and will include Kilkenny Professional, Jimmy Bolger, in the line-up. The Pro-Am takes place this Friday with the professionals taking pride of place on Saturday and Sunday.

Results of Lady President’s (Mrs. Mary Jones) Prize

Winner Sandra Carr (18) 32 points

Second Margaret Twomey (36) 28 points

Third Laura Mahony (17) 27 points

Fourth Myra Phelan (22) 27 points

1st Nine Mary Divilly (25) 14 points

2nd Nine Brenda Fitzgerald (21) 14 points

Par 3’s Hilary Hegarty 8 points

Par 5‘s Ursula Mason 9 points

Longest Drive Ruth Mulholland

Amelia scored a total of 87 points in the G.O.Y. competition and her best six cards came to 64 and was a massive 19 points clear of her nearest challenger for the title Sandra Carr.

In the men’s section of the competition Alan Hearne was the runaway winner at the finish. He accumulated a total of 63 points and his best six cards totalled 55 points and he was 18 points clear of John Keane in second place. Congratulations to both winners on their outstanding success.

The Lady Captain’s(Margaret Twomey) Team took on the Captain’s(James J. Brett) Team in the annual challenge last Sunday with the format being over 18 holes singles stableford. The best eight cards of each team counted and the Lady Captain’s Team prevailed on the day by a score of 266 points to 260 points. Best score of the day was returned by John Browne with 39 points with Lynda Hickey returning the best score of 32 points for the ladies and Frank Kelly scoring 37 points for the men.

The last round of the Summer Series was played last week and this resulted in an emphatic win for a team of Cork based golfers from Kanturk Golf Club who returned a great score of 99 points to win by a margin of 5 shots from their nearest rivals. The winning team had scores of 50 points and 49 points respectively for each nine holes as against the runners-up score of 46 points and 48 points for their nines. The runners-up team, again almost all Cork based, got through by virtue of a better back nine holes score. The first round of the Winter series commences in October with the same format as heretofore i.e., four person team event, any combination, with two scores to count on all holes.

Results Summer Series Wednesday 21st September

Winners          M. Hickey (17) (Kanturk)

                          D. Kiely (17) (Kanturk)

                          J. Tobin (22) (Kanturk)

                          T. Walsh (16) (Kanturk)                     99 points

Runners Up   K. Anderson (17) (Fermoy)

                          J. Baker (15) (Fermoy)

                          G. Dolan (16) (Ring of Kerry)

                          K. Gould (19) (Mitchelstown)             94 points

Kanturk

Ray started his round with a double bogey six and only had 15 points after nine holes. He started his back nine with a double bogey seven for a further point but then turned on the style to record a further 19 points for his last eight holes giving him a total of 35 points. He just got home by a shot from Norman Kilroy who played very consistently to record scores of 17 points for each nine holes. Norman had the misfortune to blank the third hole and double-bogied the long 17th in an otherwise faultless round.

Mary also started her round in a slow manner and after five holes had only recorded 6 points but for the remaining 13 holes she was the model of consistency with a further 28 points. She finished with two very solid pars on the 17th and 18th, both par 5′s, for a closing six points which clinched the title for her. In second place came Amelia Drumm who after scoring three points on her opening hole proceeded to blank the 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes and finished her first nine holes with a total of 11 points. She then proceeded to register a great 22 points for her last nine holes only to come up short by a shot from catching Mary for the winner’s prize.

Last Sunday the September Monthly Medal was played for and with a blustery wind blowing, scoring again was difficult. The best score of the day was by Alan Hearne, who spreadeagled his field of fellow competitors by shooting 38 points which was five shots better than his nearest rival. The foundation of Alan’s round was his first nine holes which he covered in 38 shots, just two over par, to record 21 points. He added a further 17 points on his back nine to end up a comfortable winner of his category. James E. Brett won category 2 with 31 points and Ken MacDonald had a fine 33 points to win category 3.

The ladies section was won by Sandra Carr with 33 points who started her round with two sixes and also failed to score on the long 5th hole but she steadied the ship on the last nine holes by adding a further 18 points to her first nine holes of 15 points to emerge a worthy winner. The conditions reflected in the C.S.S. for the day with the men’s standard scratch reaching its lowest figure of 32 points and the standard scratch for the ladies becoming non-counting at 33 points.

As this was the last counting competition for the Golfer of the Year, the clear winners in each section were Alan Hearne and Amelia Drumm. Both golfers had a very successful year and their respective handicaps came tumbling down during the last few months. There will be more details of their achievements next week as Amelia plays Jeff Howes in the McCalmont Cup final this week.

Next Sunday sees the Captain’s Team play the Lady Captain’s Team in the annual challenge with a “shotgun” start at 11 o’clock and there are still vacancies on both teams for members to put their names in the hat for this fun event which will be a fourball stableford.

The popular Winter Series Team Event commences on Thursday 13th October and tee times can be booked in the usual manner by contacting reservations or the golf shop at Mount Juliet.

Results September Monthly Medal

Results President’s Prize

Ladies Section

Last Sunday, a Member/Guest competition took place and this was won in emphatic style by Pat Doyle and his guests from the Ring of Kerry Golf Club who obviously thought it unnecessary to cheer on their football team in Croke Park.  This competition proved to be a landmark for Pat as well as he scored three birdies on three of the four par 3’s.  Pat registered birdies on the 3rd, 6th and 11th holes as part of his team’s winning score of 86 points.  The format of the competition was a three person rumble and Pat’s team scored 20 points, 32 points and 34 points for each six holes. With a fine entry of 30 teams in the competition Pat’s team had 3 points to spare from his nearest rival teams led by Sean O‘Neill and Jim Cusack.

The final stages of the McCalmont Cup are drawing to a conclusion with Amelia Drumm waiting to play the winners of the match between Ruth Mulholland and Jeff Howes.  This competition could yet end up as an all ladies affair for the first time in its history.  Amelia is having such a good year as she is almost assured of the Golfer of the Year title as well as possible victory in the cup.  The men’s competition in the Golfer of the Year is still up for grabs but it looks now like a straight fight between Alan Hearne and John Keane with Alan holding the upper hand with only two ranking competitions to go.

The President’s (Des Fitzgerald) Prize takes place on Saturday 10th September with a shot-gun start at 12 noon and the timesheet for this “major” opens on Monday 29th August.  Presentation of prizes will take place after play and this will be followed by dinner in Kendals Restaurant.

The junior prize was won by Flora Stevenson with a great 42 points and she follows in the footsteps of her sister, Iona, who featured in the Residential Trophy the previous week. Flora registered nines of 18 and 24 points respectively and had a comfortable winning margin.

In the ladies section the winner was Amelia Drumm, who is having a fantastic golf year, and as a result of her latest win has almost assured herself of the Golfer of the Year title for 2011 as well. She holds a very solid lead on her nearest rivals with only two more competitions left to decide the title. On Saturday last, she returned a score of 38 points to beat her nearest rivals by two shots. She had nineteen points for each nine holes and had only one real mistake on the 13th at which she failed to register a point otherwise she was utmost consistent throughout her round. The runner-up was Lynda Hickey with 36 points and she just pipped Sarah Jane Costelloe on a countback. As the start last Saturday was a “shotgun” one, all competitors finished within 20 minutes of each other which added to a very sociable evening among the players and friends before the presentation of prizes which took place at 6pm in the Hunters Yard.

Results – Men

Results – Ladies

Luke Donnelly playing off the yellow tees had a level par round for 42 points and will see his handicap of 6 reducing further in the near future as well. Luke dropped two shots to par at the 9th and 16th holes but made up for these lapses with birdies at the 2nd and 15th. No doubt there is a bright golfing future in store for both of these young players. Other notable scores were recorded by Brian Staunton, Jack Cullen in the boys section and Elizabeth Shields scoring 40 points in the girls section, with the Mulcahy brothers scoring well on each nine holes. Prizes were presented in the clubhouse with proceedings ending with a social get-together for all contestants.

Myra Phelan, followed in the footsteps of her husband Bryan, a previous winner, by capturing the Residential Trophy last week. This annual competition which has a much sought after prize and is confined to the many residents who grace the estate and add great life to the social scene at Mount Juliet. Myra recorded a fine score of 38 points and had a shot to spare from her nearest rivals. Myra scored a first nine holes of 17 points but really came to life on the back nine holes by scoring a further 21 points to clinch victory from John Thompson. The youthful Iona Stevenson won the Junior Prize with a very commendable 37 points and so reduced her playing handicap further in the past week. Myra, who is also Lady Handicap Secretary, will no doubt have to adjust her own handicap accordingly after her fine winning score.

On Saturday afternoon last a Member/Guest 18 hole singles competition was held and competitors had to endure some heavy, thunder showers during the course of play. The winning score of 33 points was returned by Conor Spain with Martin Holohan and Liz Hedigan finishing second and third respectively.

Next Sunday sees the “vice-versa” competition down for decision and this is a Golfer of the Year competition. The competition is officially the Captain’s Prize to the Ladies and the Lady Captain’s Prize to the Men and both competitions are run off together with a “shotgun start” at 11a.m. sharp. Starting holes will be allotted to all competitors on Sunday morning. This competition is another of the “majors” on the golfing calendar and could clinch the G.O.Y. competition as the “Summer Golf” nears a conclusion.

Also the next round of the popular Summer Series takes place on Tuesday 16th August and as usual this is a 4 person team event over 18 holes with any combination eligible to partake and 2 scores to count on each hole.

Results Captains Prize for Juniors

Results Residential Trophy

Member/Guest 18 Holes Singles 6th August

Needless to say they went down fighting but Woodenbridge were the stronger team on the day and won on a scoreline of 3½ to 1½ matches. The team and panel consisted of Brenda O’Sullivan, Wendy Beirne, Ann Murphy, Joan Pierce, Mary Cotter, Ann Daly and Dorothy Kilroy. They were managed throughout the competition by Helen Comerford and the panel and manager deserve congratulations on a fine effort to progress so far in a very keenly fought tournament.

The most recent round of the Summer Series produced some excellent scoring by the winning team comprised of four members of Portlaoise Golf Club. They scored a total of 102 points and were 12 points clear of the runners-up who all hailed from Carlow Golf Club. The entry sheet was full on the day but no one could get near the winning score. The winners had nines of 49 points and 53 points respectively and hardly put a foot wrong on their way to a convincing victory.

Last Sunday saw a Member/Guest Scotch Mixed Foursomes down for decision and this proved to be a triumph for the mother and son pairing of Tim and Sally Gleeson. They just got home from Phelim O’Connor and Helen Scully on a countback with both pairings scoring 35 points each.

Thankfully the July Monthly Medal on Sunday did not suffer the same outcome with the rain, although threatening, staying away for the day. Scoring was reflected in the kind weather with some excellent returns in all categories. Pride of place goes to Michael Collins, who after winning the Captain’s Prize only two weeks before, kept his good form with another winning effort by outscoring his opponents in Category 1 with a fine 41 points. Michael had scores of 22 and 19 points respectively for each nine holes. After having a double bogey six on the 2nd hole he proceeded to cover the following seven holes in level par. He continued his good form on the back nine holes but unfortunately bogied the last three holes in his round to return a back nine of 19 points.

In Category 2 the winning score came from Christian MacManus with 37 points who had nines of 18 and 19 points to win his first medal. Ronan Murphy had a welcome return to form with 37 points in Category 3 and he also had similar nines as Christian.

The ladies section was won by Paula Moore with a great score of 40 points. Paula has been knocking on the winners door for some time and her big day came on Sunday scoring 20 points on each nine holes.

As both competitions counted towards Golfer of the Year no real change came in the leader boards for both the ladies or the men. Alan Hearne still holds a commanding lead over Kevin MacCartan with Michael Collins now slipping into third place on the back of his recent form.

Amelia Drumm still leads the ladies section with 51 points after scoring in six competitions but Sally Gleeson and Liz Beatty can overtake her as they have 41 and 36 points respectively after only four competitions. The winner is decided by the best scores in six competitions so all three players can still improve on their totals in the next two months.

The McCalmont Cup Matchplay has now reached the semi-finals stage with Alan Hearne facing Amelia Drumm in the top half and Jeff Howes pitted against Ruth Mulholland in the bottom half. Alan beat Michael Brennan in his quarter-final, with Amelia coming out on top against Sandra Carr. Jeff overcame Paul Barrett in his match and Ruth got the better of Kevin McCartan in her match.

Results July Monthly Medal

Next Sunday sees the July Medal down for decision and this is a Golfer of the Year competition. The Ladies Invitation Day for July takes place today. Players are reminded to complete the quarter-final stage of the McCalmont Cup Matchplay as soon as possible.

Results Summer Series – 4 Person Team Event

Winners

Tom Irwin (19) Charleville G.C.
James Quinn (17) Charleville G.C.
John Hayes (17) Charleville G.C.
Ian Irwin (5) Castletroy G.C. 97 points

Runners-Up

Robert Dormer (8) Woodstock G.C.
Jason Dormer (10)
Martin Dormer (18)
P.J. O’Neill (12) 96 points

In the men’s section, Michael Collins just beat off the opposition with 38 points and won from a former winner, John Thompson, by a shot. Although the winner failed to register a point on the par three, 3rd, the runner-up had two blanks on the back nine holes when he failed to score on both the 11th and 13th. But these were but a few of many hard luck stories during the day and Michael proved to be a deserving winner at the finish. Michael had nines of 18 and 20 points respectively as against John’s 21 and 16 points.

The ladies section proved to be a one person show with Kathyrn O’Connor returning a massive 44 points to spreadeagle the remainder of the field of competitors. She had nines of 23 and 21 points respectively and was 3 shots clear of her nearest opponent, Wendy Beirne, who in turn was a further five shots clear of Amelia Drumm in third place. In fairness to Wendy, she may have won with her score on any other day but Kathyrn hit the high spots on the day that mattered and ran out a deserving winner as well.

A great evening of entertainment followed a superb dinner in Kendals Restaurant where the presentation of prizes took place also.

As a result of the Captain’s Prizes, the competition for both Golfer of the Year Trophies is beginning to take shape with Alan Hearne now taking a decisive lead by ten points over Kevin McCartan in the men’s section. In joint third place some three points adrift of Kevin is John Barrett.

The ladies division is led by Amelia Drumm with 46 points who has overtaken leader, Sally Gleeson, and she is now five points clear of Sally with Liz Beatty some points adrift in third place.

Results Captain’s (James J. Brett) Prize

Winner Michael Collins (13) 38 points

Second John Thompson (12) 37 points

Category I Alan Hearne (11) 35 points

Category II Pat Doyle (14) 35 points

Category III Bryan Higgins (24) 36 points

Past Captain Padraic O’Connor (20) 31 points

Front Nine Terry O’Reilly (15) 19 points

Back Nine Jim Cusack (14) 19 points

Par 3’s John Mulholland (19) 12 points

Par 5’s John Conroy (18) 12 points

Results Lady Captain (Margaret Twomey) Prize

Winner Kathyrn O’Connor (30) 44 points

Second Wendy Beirne (33) 41 points

Third Amelia Drumm (20) 36 points

Past Captain Brona Reidy (13) 34 points

Front Nine Jo Duggan (20) 20 points

Back Nine Ursula Mason (29) 21 points

Par 3’s Helen Hedigan (21) 10 points

Par 5’s Anne Daly (33) 12 points

Visitor Talma O’Sullivan (30) 33 points

Mary Cotter started the winning ball rolling with a convincing victory by a margin of 6 and 5 against her opponent. Then Brenda O’Sullivan kept the winning mood going when she won on the 16th green against her opponent. In between these two victories, Anne Murphy lost her match also on the 16th green and Joan Pierce was having a great battle with her opponent and was one down on the 17th tee. But Wendy Beirne closed out her match with a long putt on the 16th green for a winning margin of 3 and 2. Joan eventually lost on the 17th green but at that stage the important victory was secure. The team now progress to the semi-final on the 25th July against the winners of Woodenbridge or Tara Glen with a neutral venue to be decided. The team is managed by Helen Comerford and is ably assisted by another member of the panel, Dorothy Kilroy, who with Anne Daly completes the full team panel. Hopefully the team can progress to the final for the first time in the history of the club.

The competition for both Golfer of the Year Trophies is hotting up with Alan Hearne just a point in front of Kevin McCartan in the men’s section. In joint third place some seven points adrift of the leader, is John Keane and John Barrett.

The ladies division is led by Sally Gleeson with 41 points and she is five points clear of Amelia Drumm with Liz Beatty some points adrift in third place. This weekend sees the Captains’ Prizes down for decision in both categories and with bonus points on offer in both competitions the Golfers of the Year could easily be decided. A bumper entry will compete for the most coveted prizes of the year with the presentations taking place in Kendals Restaurant after dinner on Saturday night.

On a difficult day for scoring, with some wind and rain to contend with, the men were not able to reach the target of 37 points set by the ladies and their best score returned was 36 points. This was scored by Stephen Skehan with nines of 20 and 16 points respectively. He had a shot to spare over Pat Garvey who in turn had a shot to spare over Alan Hearne.

The trophy, which was presented by the Carr family to commemorate their illustrious father who was president of the club for a number of years, is a replica of the West of Ireland silver salver which the great golfer won many years ago. This trophy will be held by the winner, Helen, for the next 12 months. She had only one real mistake on her card and this was on the long par four, 4th, where she failed to register a point. Mary Divilly had the distinction of scoring an eagle two on the long ninth when she holed out her second shot with a 5 wood and scored 6 points which contributed to her overall score as a result.

The first round of the McCalmont Cup match play has been completed and the eight players through to the quarter finals are Michael Brennan, Alan Hearne, Amelia Drumm, Sandra Carr, Jeff Howes, Paul Barrett, Kevin McCartan and Ruth Mulholland. The quarter finals have to be completed by the end of June.

Members are reminded that the nine hole singles stableford competition continues each Friday evening from 5pm onwards and the player with the best 7 cards returned by the end of September will be declared the winner. There will also be prizes for the runner-up and third overall as well.

Results J. B. Carr Trophy

Overall Winner Helen Scully (18) 38 points

Men

Winner Stephen Skehan (18) 36 points

Second Pat Garvey (12) 35 points

Third Alan Hearne (11) 34 points

First Nine Dave Wyer (12) 18 points

Second Nine Tim Kavanagh (16) 18 points

Ladies

Winner Sally Gleeson (12) 37 points (last nine)

Second Mary Divilly (25) 37 points

The All Ireland Fourball team lost narrowly to the ladies of Carrick-on-Suir Golf Club but only on a countback. In this competition two pairs play at home and two pairs play away. While our two home pairs achieved victory, the away players lost and on a countback of holes won and lost, Mount Juliet came out on the wrong end. The pairings were Helen Scully/Ruth Skehan and Helen Hedigan/Mary Fulton, both of these pairings played at Mount Juliet. At Carrick-on-Suir, the pairings were Sally Gleeson/Jon Hegarty and Myra Phelan/Rita Garvey. It is interesting to note that Helen and Ruth were 5 down after nine holes but recovered for a great victory on the 18th.

Next Sunday sees the running of the J.B. Carr Trophy in memory of our former illustrious President Joe, and this is a Golfer of the Year competition with extra points available.

On Tuesday next the open Summer Series for teams of four players continues and reservations for tee times can be made by phoning 056 7773071.

This distinction fell to John Keane as he beat Sally Gleeson and Jeff Howes on a countback. All three players recorded 41 points each but John just got home by virtue of the fact that he scored 21 points on the last nine holes against Sally’s and Jeff’s 19 points. Three holes which probably defined the outcome of the result in deciding the winner were possibly the par three, 14th, where Sally failed to score and in Jeff’s case, the 17th and 18th which he proceeded to bogey in his round when victory seemed assured. The other unusual feature about the competition was that the first three prize winners in the men’s section were single figure golfers.

The winner, John, had a fine round of 14 pars, 3 bogies (5th, 8th and 13th) and one birdie at the 9th which when added up totals a round of 74 gross (two over par). Fine scoring indeed which was equalled by Jeff Howes in his round of 12 pars, 4 bogies (7th, 10th 17th and 18th) and two birdies on the 8th and 11th holes and outright victory only eluded him by virtue of his dropped shots on the last two holes played. The second and third places in the ladies section was won with 38 points and Amelia Drumm, who was third in the ladies section, registered 24 points for her first nine holes but faded on the back nine to only register a further 14 points. Third place in the men’s section was won by David Kelly with 38 points also. The C. S. S. for the day was 36 points for the men and 37 points for the ladies.

On the inter club scene, the Duggan Cup Team made their exit to neighbours Gowran Park Golf Club after a great battle in both the home and away matches. The only team standing in the men’s section is the Barton Shield team who have yet to do battle in the qualifying round in two weeks time. The ladies are faring slightly better with the Challenge Cup team yet to play Kilkenny at Callan Golf Club next week and the Ladies Fourball team set to play Carrick-on-Suir Golf Club in the first round shortly.

The Golfer of the Year tables now show Kevin McCartan in a clear lead from Alan Hearn and in the ladies section Sally Gleeson has a narrow lead over Amelia Drumm.

Jack Nicklaus Trophy

The auction was conducted by former rugby international, Fergus Slattery, and although it did not take too long to auction all items, it greatly contributed to a very deserving cause in helping some of our athletes to partake in the Special Olympics. Full credit to the chief organiser of the event, Norman Kilroy, a former captain of the club and a person who gives his time every year to run the events of the day. Over €30,000 was raised on the day and this will be added to the overall fund to cover the enormous costs of sending the Irish team to the games.

Last Sunday saw the May competition for Member/Guest decided and the format was a fourball stableford. The winning score of 42 points was returned by Pat Price Sr., and his guest David Kelly. They were two points clear of their nearest rivals Michael Williams and Aidan McDonald. Because of the inclement weather and the recovery rate of some players who played on Friday, the entry for this competition was smaller than usual.

Next Thursday sees the next round of the Summer Series which an open competition for teams of four players. Tee times can be obtained for this competition by phoning golf reservations or the golf shop.

On Sunday next the first of the “majors” is down for decision with the running of the Jack Nicklaus Trophy. This singles competition will count for points in the Golfer of the Year for men and ladies.

On the Inter Club scene, the Duggan Cup team are due to meet our neighbours Gowran Park on Friday next.

May Member & Guest Fourball Sunday 22nd May

Winners

Pat Price Snr. (14)

David Kelly (7) (Malahide) 42 points

Second

Michael Williams (20)

Aidan McDonald (6) (Kilkenny) 40 points

Kevin had nines of 21 and 18 points respectively to beat John Barrett by a shot in category 2. The other categories were won by Hugh O’Connor and Frank Kelly, both players scoring 36 points each to edge home from the opposition. This is Hugh’s second medal this year and he is obviously retaining his early season form. Sally just got the better of Amelia Drumm in the ladies section and consequently both players are leading contenders in the Golfer of the Year competition. In the G.O.Y competition for the men, the leader now is Kevin McCartan as a result of his achievement over last weekend, and he is 3 points clear of his nearest rival, Alan Hearne, who in turn is 2 points clear of Stephen Price and John Barrett.

In the ladies section, Amelia Drumm and Liz Beatty top the table on 20 points and they in turn are 3 points clear of Ruth Skehan and Sally Gleeson. The C.S.S. for Sunday was 36 points for the men and 37 points for the ladies.

Last Wednesday the Ladies Invitation Day for May took centre stage and the format was a 4 person scramble. Myra Phelan led her team to success with 84 points and they just pipped the team led by Lady Captain, Margaret Twomey, with Elizabeth McCalmont’s team in third place.

On the Inter Club front, the Pierce Purcell foursomes team made their exit in the qualifying round at Borris G.C. last week. On a day of disappointment, the pairing of Kevin McCartan and Alan Hearne returned the best score of the day with a score of 81 gross. Unfortunately the rest of the pairings failed to match this fine score and as a consequence failed to make the knockout stages of the competition. The full team comprised of Alan Hearne/Kevin McCartan, Pat Doyle/Tim Kavanagh, John Barrett/Tadhg Gleeson, Terry Sullivan/Frank Kelly and Terry O’Reilly/John Browne.

May Monthly Medal

Ladies Invitation Day Wednesday 11th May – 4 Person Scramble

The Duggan Cup team will now play neighbours Gowran Park in the second round at the end of the month. The next ladies team in action will be in the Challenge Cup next week at Borris where they are pitted against the ladies from Baltinglass Golf Club.

On the home front, the Summer Series for teams of four has resumed with the first competition in the series played last week.  This resulted in a win for a visiting outfit led by local member, John O’Connor, with a total of 91 points.  The next competition in the series takes place on Thursday 26^th May and reservations can be made by phoning 056 7773064 or 7773071.

This year there is Sunday Summer League for members over 18 holes with the best 8 scores out of 12 intended outings declared the winner.  The first of the series got off the ground last Sunday and Peter Quigley was the easy winner with 38 points.  Peter, off a handicap of 7, had a gross 77 shots which is five over par, won by six points from Pat Doyle with Alan Hearne in third place a further two points behind.

The course will undergo its Spring maintenance this week and will reopen for play on Friday.

Summer Series, Tuesday 26^th April

John O’ Connor (17)

Stephen Skehan (18) (Powerscourt)

Ger Martin (19) (Carton House)

Pat Butler (19) (Powerscourt)                 91 points

Summer League, Sunday 1^st May

Winner         Peter Quigley (7)                  38 points

Second        Pat Doyle (13)                         32 points

Third            Alan Hearne (12)                   30 points

The Leinster Fourball Trophy team are due to meet Carlow this week and they will have to be playing their best to progress into the next round against formidable opponents.

The draw for the McCalmont Cup Matchplay has come up with some interesting pairings viz., Michael Brennan v Stephen Price, Alan Hearne v Sarah Jane Costello, Joe Healy v Amelia Drumm, Alan Flanagan v Sandra Carr, Bryan Phelan v Jeff Howes, Helen Comerford v Paul Barrett, Frank Kelly v Kevin McCartan and Ruth Mulholland v James J. Brett with all matches to be completed by 31^st May.

Hugh scored 21 and 22 points respectively for each nine holes and was the epitome of consistency with 16 pars and 2 bogies in his round.  His only dropped shots were at the two par fives, 5th and 10th, in an otherwise fine round of golf of two over gross 74.

James J. Brett looked to be on for a very high score when after his first nine holes he had amassed 22 points.  But he faltered somewhat on the back nine holes with 17 points.  He failed to score on the difficult 13th and then proceeded to have a double bogie 7 on the long par five, 17th hole.

The feature of Helen’s round of steady golf was a birdie 2 on the 14th hole, which netted her 4 points, otherwise she registered a score on all 18 holes for nines of 18 and 17 points respectively.

As the medal competition had a dual purpose, it counted for Golfer of the Year points and also it was a qualifier for the McCalmont Cup Matchplay, the draw for the match play is now posted on the club’s notice board with the first round to be played by 31st May.  In this unique competition which is open to gents and ladies, five ladies have qualified for the matchplay stages out of the sixteen players who made the final stages.

The Golfer of the Year competition for men is being led after two rounds by Alan Hearne who is 2 points clear of Stephen Price with the Captain, James Brett, a further 3 points adrift of Stephen.  The ladies section is headed by Liz Beatty and Helen Comerford who are 2 points clear of Ruth Skehan, Sandra Carr and Amelia Drumm.

Results April Medal

Category 1 Hugh O’Connor (9) 43 points

Category 2 James J. Brett (14) 39 points

Category 3 Frank Kelly (24) 33 points

Ladies Helen Comerford (21) 35 points

Men’ CSS – 35 points, Ladies CSS – 36 points

Also last week saw the first monthly competition for lady members and their guests. The format for the day was a 3 person scramble and there was a full timesheet for the competition. The team led by Vice Captain, Ruth Mulholland, won by a shot from Brona Reidy’s team of ladies with Myra Phelan’s team a further shot back in third place. The winning team finished a commendable two under par gross.

Last Sunday there was a 4 person team event for members and their guests and because of so many other sporting activities down for decision there was a smaller than usual entry. This did not deter the O’Connor family from spread-eagling the field with an impressive score of 95 points. This was a real family triumph for Padraic and Helen as they were joined by their sons Hugh and John to return the winning score. Some notable features of their round was when Hugh and Helen both birdied the 6th for a total of 8 points. Hugh then had the unique experience of driving his tee shot out of bounds at the long 10th and scoring an eagle 3 with his provisional ball which secured a further 3 points for the team.

Results Winter Series

Winner Des Scahill (9) (The Heritage) 38 points

Second Shay Quinn (17) (The Heritage) 37 points

Third Joby Kelly (14) (Ballinasloe) 35 points

Results April Ladies Invitation Scramble

Winners

Ruth Mulholland (11)

Eileen Duggan (16) (Kilkenny)

Catherine Leddy (15) (Curragh) 66.8

Second

Brona Reidy (13)

Maeve O’Reilly (14) (Powerscourt)

Pauline McEnery (34) (Gowran Park) 67.9

Third

Myra Phelan (23)

Helen Cosgrove (15) (Milltown)

Liz Hurley (22) (Charlesland) 69

The first of the inter club teams in action for 2011 was the Fourball Trophy Team and their opponents were Athy Golf Club. The draw advantage was with Athy, with three matches at Athy and two matches at Mount Juliet. The overall match was won in thrilling style by Mount Juliet by a three matches to two aggregate. Heroes of the tie were Ken MacDonald and Ronan Murphy who won at Athy by a margin of 5 and 4. Both matches at Mount Juliet were won narrowly, but decisively, with John O’Connor and Bryan Higgins winning by 2 and 1. The final pairing of Dermot Divilly and Pat Hegarty won 2 up with Pat closing the door on the 18th by sinking a 25ft., putt to seal the victory.

The other pairings of John Mulholland / Frank Kelly and Billy Murphy / Padraic O’Connor lost narrowly at Athy. Hopefully this early vein of form will act as a catalyst for some of the remaining teams in competitions.

Results Winter Series

Winners

Des Scahill (9) (The Heritage)

James Farrell (8) (Kilkenny)

Lar Ryan (9) (Rathdowney)

Shay Quinn (17) (The Heritage) 97 points

Runners-Up

B. McGraughan (8) (Galway)

D. O’Kelly (6)

P. Shallow (6)

R. Ramberg (12)

(Galway) 94 points

To be in with a chance of winning simply sign up to our newsletter – Click Here to Sign up & Enter or fill out a card at the Golf Shop in Mount Juliet.

Stephen started very impressively with a birdie on the 1st hole and followed it with another birdie on the short par three, 3rd , and dropped a shot on the par three, 6th. This was to be his only bogie in the round as he parred all other holes to make a total of 15 pars, 2 birdies and only one bogie. He had nines of 22 and 21 points respectively for his eighteen holes and as a result he leads the Golfer of the Year as this was the commencement of this year’s competition.

In category 2, Alan Hearne also returned a fine score of 41 points to win his category convincingly. Alan had a fine start to his round also with birdies at the 3rd and 4th holes and completed his first nine holes with 23 points. His fine round gradually came to a halt and he returned a steady 18 points on the back nine holes.

Category 3 was won by Padraic O’Connor with 34 points, which could have been a few shots better but for blanking the 1st and 5th holes where he had the unfortunate experience of playing a wrong ball. Also in this category, Frank Kelly had the unusual experience of having an eagle on the 9th when he holed out his second shot with a 5 wood.

The ladies section was won by Liz Beatty with 32 points by virtue of a better back nine holes from three other players and Liz is now the early leader in the G. O.Y.

Next Wednesday, 6th April, sees the first of the popular Ladies Invitation Days for 2011 with the running of a three person scramble.

Results March Monthly Medal

Category 1 Stephen Price (6) 43 points

Category 2 Alan Hearne (13) 41 points

Category 3 Padraic O’Connor (21) 34 points

Ladies Liz Beatty (17) 32 points

In the Member/Guest competition, the format of which was a fourball betterball stableford, the father/son combination of James E. and Niall Brett ran out deserving winners with a score of 43 points. They had a shot to spare over Frank Kelly and his Kerry based partner Joe Healy. The winners had nines of 20 and 23 points respectively and a par on the 18th by James proved to be the clinching score.

The final round of the Winter Series takes place next Wednesday 30th March and as usual it is for teams of four golfers, any combination, with two scores to count. Next Sunday sees the commencement of the Golfer of the Year competition with the running of the March Medal over 18 holes and play will be off the white tees. Last year’s winner, Stephen Price, will be out to retain his crown. On the inter club scene the first team in action will be the Fourball Trophy team and they are pitted against Athy Golf Club who are expected to be formidable opposition. The month of April will see the majority of teams in action, both ladies and gents, hopefully with success.

Results Winter Series

Winners

R. Fitzgerald (11) (Ballinasloe)

T. Kelly (14) (Ballinasloe)

N. Egan (20) (Ballinasloe)

E. Moloney (18) (Ballinasloe) 99 points

Member / Guest Fourball Stableford

Winners

James E. Brett (14)

Niall Brett (10) (Callan) 43 points

Second

Frank Kelly (23)

Joe Healy (10) (Dooks) 42 points

This seniors open golf competition will run every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for 4 weeks.

Winners of the weekly rounds will receive a 30min golf lesson with Mount Juliet Pro, Sean Cotter.
Plus, the four weekly winners will go into a draw to win a weekend break for two at Mount Juliet.

Entry to the competition is €60 per player and includes a Mixed Grill, complimentary Electric/Pull Trolley or Buggy.
All winners will be announced here onthe Mount Juliet Golf Blog (mountjuliet.ie/blog) each week after each competition round.

Spring Open Series Competition Dates

March 21 – 23

March 28 – 30

April 4 – 6

April 11 – 13

Click Here to Book On-line
To Book by phone please call 056 777 3010

Last Sunday saw the Member/Guest competition take place in cloudy, dry and mild conditions. The competition was a three person rumble over 18 holes and scoring was by stableford. Scoring conditions for this competition was the best single score over the first six holes, two best scores over the next six holes and all three scores over the last six holes. The winners scored a total of 85 points and this was compiled of 19 points for the first six holes, 34 points for the middle six and 32 points for the last six holes. They held on by two points from their nearest pursuers from Mount Juliet who in turn beat the third placed team by virtue of a better back nine holes. The runners up would have been much closer to the winners but for only amassing a moderate 29 points for the middle six holes. However it was good to see John Browne feature in the prizes after his recent illness and our good wishes go to him for a full recovery.

Results Member/Guest 18 Holes Rumble

Winners

Bill Connolly (14)

P.J. Butler (17) (The Heritage)

Bryan Byrne (9) (The Heritage) 85 points

Second

John Browne (18) (Mount Juliet)

Margaret Twomey (36)

Sheila MacDonald (30) 83 points (last nine)

Third

Pat Doyle (13)

Gerry Lenihan (13) (Ring of Kerry)

Gary Tobin (12) (Mahon Golf Club) 83 points

The next member and guest competition takes place on Sunday 20th March and the format will be a fourball stableford. This Wednesday sees the Winter Series take place and as usual this is a four person team event.

The Winter Series was won with 87 points and the winning team put together nines of 43 and 44 points. The team started well scoring 7 points on the long 2nd and thereafter scored solidly with their worst score on any hole being four points.

The Member/Guest competition was a fourball betterball stable ford and this was won with 41 points. The winners had 18 points for the first nine holes but really came to life on the second nine amassing a further 23 points. The runners-up scored 40 points with a solid 20 points on each nine holes.

The next round of the Winter Series takes place on Wednesday 9th March and next Sunday there is a member/guest competition with a one tee start as the two tee starts are now finished with the arrival of March. The competition next Sunday is a three person rumble over 18 holes for a member and his/her two guests and scoring is by stableford.

Results, Winter Series

Winners

Sean Brett (9) Callan Golf Club

John O’Dwyer (5)

Paul Cashin (16)

Paul Madigan (5) 87 points

Member/Guest Fourball Betterball Stableford

Winners

Michael Collins (13)

Richard Dowling (14) (Gowran Park) 41 points

Second

Bill Connolly (14)

Bill Fanning (15) (Carlow) 40 points

The Winter Series will resume on Wednesday 9th March and as ever this popular competition will be a four person team event over 18 holes. This competition is open to ladies or men’s teams or a combination of both and tee times can be reserved by phoning 056 7773064 / 7773071.

The draw for this year’s Cups and Shields Championships can be viewed on the G.U.I. website and the matches that matter to Mount Juliet sees them pitted against Killerig in the Irish Mixed Foursomes with Killerig having the advantage of 3 matches at home and 2 matches at Mount Juliet. The Leinster Fourball Trophy team are up against Athy in the first round, with Athy having the advantage of the odd match of the five at Athy. The Irish Mixed has to be played before 25th April and the Leinster Fourball has to be played before 12th April. The Pierce Purcell Shield qualifying round will be played at Borris Golf Club on Saturday 14th May and the Barton Shield qualifying round will be hosted by Mount Juliet on Saturday 11th June. The draws for the I.L.G.U. championships will be available in two weeks time.

The show will be made up of the collections of Alice by Temperley, Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, D&G, Vivienne Westwood, Jaeger, DKNY, Alice & Olivia, Pinko, Markus Lupfer, Twenty8Twelve, Elie Tahari, Sportmax, Rebecca Taylor, Tibi and Tucker. Irelands renowned stylist Graham Cruz will help navigate trends in 70′s glamour, Punk Fashion, Lace, Modern Minimalism, Romance and Colour.

Guests will have an exclusive opportunity to shop the show at the Harvey Nichols pop-up store in the Presidential Suites from 7pm while there will also be a beauty talk with IMAGE magazines beauty editor Liz Dwyer from 9pm who will share her coveted top beauty secrets on the evening. Graham Cruz will also give a styling tips talk following the show.

The event which will be MC’d by IMAGE editor Melanie Morris is set to be another unmissable event of fabulous fashion, beauty and shopping. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the St. Johns Cancer Ward at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin.

Book Now on 086 043 6490 – Limited Availability

Click here for more details … : http://www.mountjuliet.ie/fashion

The “drive in” of the Captains took place last weekend after the postponement of the original fixture on 5th December due to the dreadful weather we experienced during that period.  Unfortunately the competition which was due to take place in conjunction with the drive-in had to be cancelled due to frost.  Nevertheless the social end of the day was not affected and a large crowd enjoyed the social occasion which ended in a very enjoyable dinner in Kendals Restaurant.

The new Captains, James J. Brett and Margaret Twomey, were driven into office in the now familiar pony and trap and after alighting at the practice range in front of the clubhouse, proceeded to hit two fine drives in front of the gathered assembly of well wishers to officially start their year of office.  Every good wish and success for their year in office is extended to both members.

The ceremony of the presenting of blazers to the new Captains was performed by the outgoing Captains, Jim Cusack and Sally Gleeson, in the Hunters Yard clubhouse where William Kirby was master of ceremonies.  William thanked the outgoing Captains for their enormous contribution in 2010 and welcomed the new Captains to office.

Next Sunday the first competition of 2011 is scheduled to take place and as usual at this particular time of year is at the mercy of the elements.  All going well with the weather this competition is a member/guest fourball stableford over the full course and tee times can be booked by phoning the golf shop or by booking on-line for members.  Likewise the first of the Winter Series for 2011 also takes place this Thursday and tee reservations can also be made by phoning 056 7773071 or 056 777 3010.  The format of this series remains the same as usual, a four person team event over 18 holes with two scores to count on all holes.

With over 100 Luxury Gift Vouchers available, Mount Juliet Gift Vouchers make ideal last minute gifts. The vouchers are also printable on your own PC, and can be ordered and printed in under 5 minutes. If you forgot somebody this Christmas visit our Gift Vouchers Section at http://mountjuliet.ie/giftvoucher … Something for everyone this Christmas.

Luxury Hampers

Mount Juliet Luxury Hampers are now available and make an excellent Christmas Present. Choose from Golf Hampers or Artisan Food Hampers.

Our food hampers include products used by Mount Juliet and also items made by the chefs at Mount Juliet.

Click Here for more details

Christmas Day Lunch

Enjoy Christmas Day Lunch in the Relaxing and Seasonal atmosphere of Kendals Restaurant.

Christmas Day Lunch starts at 1pm and bookings are now been taken.

Christmas Lunch : €95
Call Xavier and his team on 056 777 3010 to book Christmas Day Lunch at Mount Juliet.

Christmas Package

Enjoy a wonderful five star Christmas away and let the Mount Juliet Estate spoil you during this holiday season.

With warming hot port wine and homemade mince pies to greet you on arrival and a festive feast to enjoy in the exquisite Lady Helen Dining Room, you will wake up on Christmas morning feeling full of festive spirit.
Click Here for more details

New Years

Enquire also about our New Years Eve Ball which is held at Mount Juliet.

We are also running a New Years Day Jazz Brunch.
Call Xavier and his team on 056 777 3010 to book New Years Day Brunch at Mount Juliet.

Happy Christmas from Mount Juliet

The fixtures diary for 2011 is nearing completion and it is hoped that all members will have a copy to “mull” over the Christmas period. It is expected that there will be an increase in the number of competitions available to both members and their guests in the coming year. On this topic the new Captains will “drive in” on Sunday 5th December and this will be preceded by a 9 hole rumble with a separate competition over both nines. The timesheet for these competitions is now open and tee reservations can be made at the golf shop or at golf reservations.

Results Christmas Member/Guest Fourball Betterball Hamper.

Winners
Kevin McCartan (15) and Jerry McIntyre (17) 39 points

Second
Gerard Magee (18) and David Kearney (9) 39 points

Third
Sally Gleeson (13) and David Forbes (22) 38 points

Because of the dire forecast for last Saturday night and Sunday a smaller entry than usual played for the Hamper over 16 holes on Sunday. This was a singles stableford and some good scoring prevailed on a fine day which turned a little colder as the evening closed in. The storm did not arrive until after dark and everybody played in dry and calm conditions. The men’s section was won by Sean O’Neill who returned 36 points and in second place came Paul Barrett on 34 points winning on a countback. The ladies section was won by the Lady Captain, Sally Gleeson with 30 points.

Upcoming Fixtures

Sunday 21st November Member/Guest Fourball Betterball – 16 Holes

Thursday 25th November End of Year Get-Together for Ladies

Sunday 5th December Captains Drive In – Hampers

Result of the Winter Series Thursday 4th November

Winners

Robert Dormer (8) Woodstock G.C.

Jason Dormer (10) Woodstock G.C.

Martin Dormer (18) Woodstock G.C.

P.J. O’Neill (12) Woodstock G.C. 94 points

This Thursday sees the second round of the Winter Series down for decision and there are still some vacancies for intending competitors in this popular four person team event which is open to men and ladies. Next Sunday sees the first of the hampers on offer to members with the running of a 16 hole singles competition confined to members only. Then on Sunday 21st November there is a 16 holes fourball betterball for members and their guests. Both competitions will have a timesheet with the last tee time at 12.10pm. The end of the year get-together for the lady members will be held on Thursday 25th November with a 9 hole competition followed by a social evening. On this day there will be another round of the Winter Series.

Diary Notes for November

On Sunday the Member/Guest competition took place and like the professional tournament of Saturday both sections of this competition was won with an impressive score as well. The final round of Ladies Invitation days took place on Wednesday last also. Plenty of golf with the condition of the course coming in for loud praise from the professionals and amateurs alike.

A great week of golf was enjoyed by the Lady Captain, Sally Gleeson, who featured in the three competitions on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Sally led her team to victory on Wednesday in the 3 person rumble on Lady Invitation day. She then proceeded to be third in the pro-am on Friday and was second in the 18 holes singles on Sunday.

On Friday last the Pro-Am was won by a team from Lexus with 93 points led by professional, John Dignam. In second place with 90 points came the team led by Robert Giles who just beat the Mount Juliet team on a countback. The format of the team event was two scores to count on each hole and a very enjoyable day was had by all with the day finishing with a dinner in Kendals Restaurant with after dinner entertainment by Barry Murphy of Aprés Match fame.

On Sunday the member/guest 18 holes singles was played for and after an initial delay of nearly 2 hours, due to frost, all players got finished with some hot scoring deciding the outcome of the prizes. Best score of the day was returned by Brendan Meehan from Galway who had a remarkable 43 points. This score was made up of nines of 21 and 22 points respectively. Brendan was level par for seventeen holes and the only slip-up he made was at the 15th where he failed to score. He just edged out Liam Brett from Callan by a point and this result could have been reversed if Liam had scored on the 15th or the 18th where he drew blanks on both holes.

The ladies section was won by young Darcey Carr who returned an impressive score of 40 points off her handicap of 9. The good weather meant a great turnout of competitors for all competitions last week.

Results Ladies Invitation Day 3 Person Rumble
Wednesday 13th October

Winners

Sally Gleeson (14)

Judy Daly (14) Little Island G.C.

Anna Maloney (9) Clonmel G.C. 79 points

Second

Brona Reidy (13)

Maeve O’Reilly (14) Powerscourt G.C.

Edel Barron (12) Powerscourt G.C. 78 points

Third

Helen Scully (19)

Ann O’Shea (12) Powerscourt G.C.

Siobhan Fahey (14) Powerscourt G.C. 72 points

Results Member/Guest 18 holes Singles
Sunday 17th October

Men

Winner Brendan Meehan (9) Galway G.C. 43 points
Second Liam Brett (18) Callan G.C. 42 points
Third Bryan Phelan (15) 39 points

Ladies

Winner Darcey Carr (9) Milltown G.C. 40 points
Second Sally Gleeson (14) 37 points

The Lexus Race to Mount Juliet has concluded with the last round of competitions for places played last week. Top of the leader board came David Higgins (Waterville) and he just held on from David Mortimer and Damian Mooney finished in third place. The top 30 professionals from the Irish section of the P.G.A. qualify to play this weekend at Mount Juliet with a Pro Am on Friday and the final playoff scheduled for Saturday.

Next Sunday sees a Member/Guest competition down for decision and this will be an 18 holes singles stableford. On this Wednesday the last of the Ladies Invitation Days takes place which is in the format of a 3 person rumble.

Results Lady Presidents Prize

Winner Jan Hyland (22) 40 points

Second Ruth Mulholland (11) 35 points

Third Ursula Mason (29) 32 points

Fourth Adrienne Walsh (21) 30 points

1st Nine Brenda Fitzgerald (20) 19 points

2nd Nine Sally Gleeson (14) 17 points

Next week sees the culmination of the Professional golf scene in Ireland with the final of the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet down for decision on Saturday 16th October. There will be a Pro-Am tournament on Friday 15th which is part of the weekend competition. The professional tournament itself decides which of our Irish professionals will head the order of merit for 2010 and will involve the top 30 players on the current list. At the moment this list is headed by David Mortimer who recently won the P.G.A. Irish Championship and he just leads from David Higgins with John Kelly in third place. There is a sizeable amount of money to be won on the weekend so the competition will be keen and the public are sure to see some great golf. Kilkenny professional Jim Bolger lies at 16th place on the money list at the moment and is assured of his place in the final. The winner will receive an invite into some of the top professional tournaments on the European tour in 2011. The Pro-Am will be an interesting day on Friday with teams of three amateurs joining a professional in a team event to try and win some of the valuable prizes on offer. There is only 1 remaining vacancy in the amateur team event on Friday so if some of you fancy a game in a very competitive atmosphere on Friday, call the golf shop and Francis will try to accommodate you and give you the necessary details regarding the Pro-Am Event.

Last week saw the last of the Summer Series decided and this proved to be an emphatic win for a team of Kilkenny golfers with a score of 94 points. They had a clear 5 points to spare from their nearest rivals. The winners had nines of 45 and 49 points respectively and they really put on the style on the back nine holes to clinch their win. This was the last in the series and the Winter Series will commence in two weeks time with the same format of last year i.e., teams of four, any combination, with two scores to count on each hole.

Results of Summer Series

At the end of play on Sunday, the Lady Captain’s Team just prevailed by a score of 483 points to 478 points and the last four teams to finish determined the outcome of the competition. The trophy was presented to the Lady Captain by the Captain and the three best pairs also received prizes. Best overall pair was the Captain himself with his partner Dan Cronin who scored 46 points and they just got home by a point from James J. Brett and Padraic O’Connor who in turn beat David Kelly and Alan Hearne on a countback. The winners had nines of 24 and 22 points respectively and the runners-up scored 21 and 24 points which just beat the third placed team by virtue of a better back nine holes.

This Wednesday sees the final round of the Summer Series before the Winter Series starts at the end of October. Next week the Lady President (Mary Jones) holds her prize for the lady members, and the ladies Invitation day for October will be held on Wednesday the 13th (3 person rumble).

Results : Lady Captain v Captain Fourball Stableford

Winners : Jim Cusack (13) & Dan Cronin (18) – 46 points

Second : James J. Brett (15) & Padraic O’Connor (20) – 45 points

Third : David Kelly (5) & Alan Hearne (14) – 45 points

There was a full entry for last week’s Summer Series. This was to be the final competition for 2010 but due to demand, it was decided to run one further competition on Wednesday 29th September. Back to the competition that was played and this proved to be a good day for a team comprised of players from County Limerick. They had an excellent score of 101 points and they only just got home by a point from a team of players from neighbouring clubs Slievenamon and Callan. The winning team scored 51 and 50 points for their respective nines and the runners-up scored 49 and 51 points for their nines.

The Winter Series will commence on Wednesday 20th October and there will be further dates on November 4th, November 25th and December 9th. This series of competitions will again be a 4 person team event over 18 holes. As usual tee times for these competitions can be reserved by phoning 056/7773071 or 77773064.

Next weekend sees the Lady Captains Team play the Captains Team and this is a fun day for all members to enjoy with the competition itself taking the format of a fourball betterball stableford. The draw for teams will be held on Saturday night at the annual team dinner in Kendals Restaurant.

On Thursday 7th October the Lady President’s Prize will be competed for and this is the last “major” prize for the ladies for 2010.

Results Summer Series

Winners
Liam O’Donoghue (19) (Limerick)
Joe Purcell (18) (Charleville)
Joe O’ Donoghue (14) (Limerick)
Christy Creed (14) (Adare) 101 points

Second
Denis Moylan (12) (Slievenamon)
Paddy Buckley (10) (Slievenamon)
Ollie Maher (19) (Slievenamon)
Pat Dunne (19) (Callan) 100 points

The Winter Series will then start on Wednesday 20th October with events until 30th March 2011. The Grand final of the Winter Series will take place Wednesday 6th April 2011.

Details and dates of the additional summer series and Winter Series Golf events at Mount Juliet are outlined below.

ADDITIONAL SUMMER SERIES DATE : Wed 29th Sept

Winter Series Dates

Wednesday, 20th Oct 2010
Thursday, Nov 4th 2010
Thursday, 25th Nov 2010
Thursday, Dec 9th 2010
Thursday, Jan 20th 2011
Thursday, 10th Feb 2011
Wednesday, 9th Mar 2011
Wednesday, 30th Mar 2011
Grand Final: Wednesday, 6th April 2011

» » Click here to Book a Time on the Winter Series « «

Details for All Events :
Four Person Team Event, 2 Scores to Count, Stableford
The entry fee of &euro60.00 per person includes:

- Winter Series Competition entry fee on the Jack Nicklaus Signature course.
- A hot snack & drink at the 10th tee Bar.
- Warm-up basket of range balls.
- take in a free round on our 18 hole championship putting course before or after the game.

Call Mount Juliet Golf Club reservations on 056 777 3010 to book or you can book online.

Alan scored 20 points on each nine holes and but for a blank on the tricky par four, 7th, he would have added to his total score. Against that he birdied the 2nd and 5th on his outward nine and returned a highly creditable one over par gross, 37 shots, on his homeward nine holes which included a hole out for a par on the last from the greenside bunker. David Gleeson returned 37 points to win category 2 and he did this the hard way by scoring only 15 points for his first nine holes and then came to life by scoring a further 22 points on his last nine. In category 3 Christian McManus just pipped Gerard Magee to win the medal and Gerard who turned with 22 points could only add a further 11 points on the last nine holes.

In the ladies section Ruth scored 35 points and just got home from Amelia, who looked to have the medal well within her grasp after 11 holes when she had scored 24 points. But incredibly she failed to score on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes where she visited bunkers. But to her credit she regained her composure and scored a further 10 points on the last four holes. Ruth, after an indifferent start, had nines of 15 and 20 points to secure her medal.

In the Golfer of the Year competitions Stephen Price won the men’s section for the third time from Michael Brennan and Alan Hearne. Michael had a great chance of winning as he had scored 20 points after nine holes but ran into plenty of trouble on the last nine holes and only scored a further 12 points when 15 points would have won the trophy for him.

Amelia won the ladies trophy by virtue of her amazing run of wins in the March, April and May medals and this foundation was the key to her triumph. Congratulations to both winners and the trophies will be presented at the annual dinner on Saturday week. This will be followed on Sunday by a competition between the Captain’s Team and the Lady Captain’s Team

Results September Monthly Medal

The last of the “majors” was played for on Saturday and it foretold pending doom for Kilkenny with the winning of the President’s (Des Fitzgerald) Prize by Tipperary member, Tadhg Gleeson, and he did it as convincing as the hurlers did. Tadhg, who was Captain of Mount Juliet in 2005 and had never won a competition in his long association with the club, like the hurlers certainly came good on the day that mattered. He spreadeagled the large entry of competitors with a stunning round of 45 points off the white markers to win easing up.

The President’s Prize for the ladies was played in conjunction with the men’s prize and this proved to be a family affair with Des’s wife, Brenda, winning the honours by the narrowest of margins from Tadhg‘s daughter Sarah. Snapping at both players heels came Nora Deane just a point behind with Tadhg’s wife, Sally, a further point behind Nora in fourth place.

Tadhg had nines of 23 and 22 points respectively on each nine holes and had a total of 11 pars with the remainder of his round comprised of 7 bogies off his handicap of 16 which has now been reduced to 13 as the S.S. for the day was 35 points. I am sure that little adjustment is the least of Tadhg’s worries after his great victory and Tipperary‘s All Ireland. In second place came Paul Barrett who is certainly playing very consistent golf at the moment which he indicated by almost winning the last competition played.

Brenda played very good golf as well and but for failing to score on the short par three 11th, she would have reached the 40 point mark. This was her only hole not to register a point at, which was an indication of her consistency. Congratulations to both Tadhg and Brenda on their achievements and Brenda still has a chance of the double if she wins the Lady President’s Prize in October.

As a result of the weekend results, the Golfer of the Year competitions in both categories has tightened up considerably with only the September medal to decide the outcome. At the top of the men’s competition, Stephen Price and Michael Brennan are locked together on 36 points and they are just in front of Alan Hearne who has 35 points.

In the ladies section, Amelia Drumm is 5 points clear of Ruth Skehan but both can improve their total by featuring in the September Medal next Sunday and a top three finish by either player could decide the winner.

Last Wednesday the Ladies Invitation for September took place and this was a fourball betterball competition with the usual good entry. The winners of this competition were Myra Phelan and her visitor from Milltown, Helen Cosgrove, who had 40 points. They just beat the mother and daughter combination of Sandra and Darcey Carr, also Milltown, by a point. The Kilkenny and Borris visitors came up trumps in the nines.

Forthcoming fixtures include the September Medal next Sunday and the last of the Summer Series, which as usual is a team of four event, takes place next Wednesday 15th September. The Winter Series is scheduled to commence on the 20th October. Bookings for any of these competitions may be made by phoning 056 7773071 or 7773064.

President’s (Des Fitzgerald) Prize, Saturday 4th
September 2010

Ladies Invitation Day, Wednesday 1st September 2010

Next Sunday the September Medal is down for decision

This is Michael’s second time to win the trophy since its inception and congratulations go to him on the achievement. As this was a Golfer of the Year competition, the result had no significant bearing on the leaderboard.

Stephen Price still maintains his lead, but only just, from Alan Hearn by one point. The advantage still rests with Stephen as he has fewer competitions played but it still looks as this will go to the wire before a result is known.

In the ladies section the competition is hotting up with Ruth Skehan holding a narrow advantage over Amelia Drumm with Kathryn O’Connor reducing the gap on the leaders in third place.

The President’s (Des Fitzgerald) Prize will be played on Saturday 4th September with a shotgun start at 11am. The timesheet for this competition is now open and bookings can be made by phoning tee reservations at 056 7773071or 7773064.

Last Sunday there was an 18 holes 3 person rumble competition and there was a very good turnout of members and their guests for this popular competition. With one score to count on the first six holes, two scores on the next six holes and all three players scores to count on the last six holes, competitors had to be at their sharpest. The winners had 18 points for the first six holes, followed by 29 points for their middle six holes and they finished off with a further 45 points to register a total of 91 points. They had eight shots to spare from their nearest rivals. The key to their success was that they all scored on each hole for the last six holes and this is where the competition is usually decided.

Results

Member/Guest 18 holes Rumble Sunday 22nd August

The men’s prize went to Pat Doyle who kept his nearest rivals at bay by shooting 39 points which was a very commendable score with play off the white tees and the course playing every bit of its 7000 yards. Pat just held on by a shot from Tony Frew and Paul Barrett. Paul must have rued his 7 on the long 13th as a six would have given him the prize on a countback. He also had the misfortune of playing a wrong ball on the 8th which cost him a further two shots. Tony’s biggest blunder came at the 7th where he failed to register a point and has obviously retained his recent run of good form by “chipping in” on the last for a birdie three. The C.S.S. for the day remained unchanged at 35 points. The President, Des Fitzgerald, had the honour of achieving a hole in one at the 14th hole where he holed out his 3 wood.

The ladies prize was claimed by Helen Shields with 41 points but only by a whisker as Kathryn O’Connor also recorded the same score only to be beaten on a countback. Hot on both players heels came Brona Reidy with 40 points and she will surely rue dropping four shots on the 6th, 7th and 8th holes. Kathryn also had her bad luck by failing to score on the long 18th. Helen scored nines of 21 and 20 points respectively as against Kathryn’s score of 23 and 18 points.

The outcome of both competitions had no distinct bearing on the Golfer of the Year competitions as the chief contenders in both sections i.e., Stephen Price, Ruth Skehan and Amelia Drumm lost no ground to their nearest challengers.

The final of the McCalmont Cup between Michael Brennan and John O’Connor will be played this coming Friday. Next Sunday sees the continuation of the member/guest series with a 3 person rumble competition over 18 holes. The course closes next week for 3 days for the annual maintenance programme of the greens.

Results Lady Captain’s Prize to the Men

Winner – Pat Doyle (15) 39 points
Second - Tony Frew (7) 38 points
Third - Paul Barrett (10) 38 points
Fourth - John Thornton (11) 37 points
Past Captain - Tom Duggan (8) 36 points
1st Nine - David Kelly (5) 20 points
2nd Nine - Sean O’Neill (14) 21 points
Hole in One - Des Fitzgerald at the par three 14th
Long Drive - John Brennan

Results Men’s Captain’s Prize to the Ladies

Winner – Helen Shields (17) 41 points
Second - Kathryn O’Connor (34) 41 points
Third - Brona Reidy (14) 40 points
Past Captain - Brenda Fitzgerald (21) 32 points
1st Nine - Amelia Drumm (22) 18 points
2nd Nine - Anne Murphy (33) 19 points
Long Drive - Ruth Mulholland
Nearest Pin - Mary Quigley

The format of the ladies competition was a four person team event and this proved to be a decisive victory for the team led by the Lady Captain, Sally Gleeson, who with her three other team members scored an impressive 84 points. With two scores to count at each hole the winners had a comfortable margin to spare over their nearest pursuers.

Three members had “Holes in One” over the past week as well. David Kelly holed out his nine iron on the 11th in the Residential Trophy competition and will receive a memento for his achievement. In a friendly fourball last week Karl O’Connor had an ace on the 3rd and later in the same match Bryan Phelan holed out on the 14th for his ace.

The penultimate round of the Summer Series took place last Thursday and this proved to be benefit for four members from our near neighbouring club, Callan, who scored a fine 96 points. They just pipped a team led by Ollie Hodges from Ballykisteen by a shot. The Callan men had nines of 47 and 49 points respectively against the runners-up score of 46 and 49 points. The final competition of the Summer Series takes place next month and this will be followed with the start of the Winter Series.

The Friday evening nine hole competition continues this Friday and with only two more Fridays left the leaderboard for the final prize is getting very tight indeed.

Results Lady Invitation Day

Winners

Sally Gleeson (13)
Marie Shee (17)
Catherine Bird (6)Clonmel G.C.
Cathy Mitchell (17)Tramore G.C. 84 points

Results Summer Series

Winners

Paul Madigan (4)Callan G.C.
John O’Dwyer (6)
Sean Brett (9)
Paul Cashin (16) 96 points

Second

Ollie Hodges (6) Ballykisteen G.C.
Jimmy Nolan (11) Ballykisteen G.C.
Arthur Ryan (19) Castletroy G.C.
Peter Fitzgibbon (10) Slievenamon G.C. 95 points

The much coveted Residential Trophy was the prize last Saturday and Bryan Phelan made a procession of the competition by returning a fabulous 45 points off the green markers to spreadeagle a good field of both ladies and men for this special event in Mount Juliet. Bryan had nines of 23 and 22 points respectively for his round which was comprised of 11 pars, 5 bogies and two double bogies. He dropped shots on the 8th, 9th, 10th 11th and 12th and had a double bogie on the 7th and finished with another on the 18th hole. But he had set up his score by starting with six pars and after his lapse in the next six holes he steadied himself again by scoring a further five pars before a final lapse on the last hole. In second place was Cliff Beirne with 41 points and he scored 22 and 19 points for his respective nine holes. Normally his score would have been good enough to win this annual competition but Bryan obviously had other ideas. In third place scoring 37 points came Conor Lynch. The ladies section was won by lady in form, Ruth Skehan, returning a score of 34 points with 17 points on each nine holes. The best junior was Flora Stevenson who returned an impressive 38 points. Flora scored 19 points for each nine holes played. The C.S.S. for both the ladies and men’s sections was 36 points, which meant a number of handicap reductions for a select group of players.
The finalists in the McCalmont Cup match play competition are now known with victories in both semi-finals having been achieved by Michael Brennan and John O’Connor. Michael Brennan beat Kathyrn O’Connor and John O’Connor got the better of Chris McHugh. Both players will do battle in the final at a date to be agreed in the coming weeks.

Next week sees the “Vice Versa” competitions take place on Sunday 15th August. These are the Lady Captain’s Prize to Men and the Captain’s Prize to Ladies with a shotgun start at 11am for all participants.

Results of Residential Trophy
Winner Bryan Phelan (18) 45 points
Second Cliff Beirne (10) 41 points
Third Conor Lynch (14) 37 points
Ladies Ruth Skehan (27) 34 points
Junior Flora Stevenson (36) 38 points

The July Monthly Medal was played for last Sunday and competitors were lucky with the weather, as almost an inch of rain had fallen in the previous 24 hours, but Sunday remained nice and dry for a good turnout of golfers.

Best score of the day was recorded by Tony Frew who scored a very impressive 44 points which equated to a round of level par off his handicap of 8. Tony had nines of 22 points on each nine holes with bogies on the 7th and 14th holes, but he countered these dropped shots with birdies on the 2nd and 10th holes. He had no other dropped shots but completed his round with 14 pars for a very fine score indeed. Tony easily won his category and was an impressive six shots clear of his nearest rival.

In category 2, Alan Hearne just beat the present Captain, Jim Cusack, on a countback to claim the spoils with another fine round of 40 points. Alan had a rather sluggish start to his round by only recording 11 points for his first seven holes which included two double bogies and four bogies, but he really came to life from thereon as he scored 29 points for the last eleven holes and only dropping two shots to par on the 14th and 18th holes.

Category 3 was won by Paul Carty, who is having a very successful year on the golf course. Paul recorded 32 points for his round.

The ladies division also had a decisive winner in Margaret Clandillon who had three shots to spare from her nearest rivals. Margaret scored a fine 38 points with nines of 20 and 18 points respectively and had only one blip in her round, on the 16th where she failed to register a point. Margaret had three shots to spare from Paula Moore and Lady Captain, Sally Gleeson.

In the Golfer of the Year competitions, Stephen Price leads Alan Hearne with Andrew Nixon holding third place. Ruth Skehan holds sway over Amelia Drumm by four points. Ruth has scored in six competitions whereas Amelia holds a slight advantage by only scoring in five competitions, and can overtake her rival over the next few weeks. The C.S.S. for the men was 36 points and for the ladies was 37 points.

Last week also saw the running of the July Ladies Invitation competition and this proved to be a triumph for Ursula Mason who returned the winning score. The competition for July was an 18 holes singles stableford and Ursula hit top form by scoring 39 points and won by a shot from Brenda O’Sullivan with Sheila MacDonald a shot further behind. Ursula had nines of 21 and 18 points respectively and after a shaky start to her second nine holes, where she only scored two points in total on the 10th and 11th holes, she settled down again to record an impressive win. Brenda had a very indifferent start to her round by scoring 16 points on the first nine holes but came to life on the second nine by scoring a further 22 points.

The popular Summer Series continued last Thursday and the July competition proved to be a triumph for a team led by two New Ross members who returned the winning score of 90 points. They just held on by a shot from a team led by Stephen Price and three friends based in Dublin clubs. The next round in this series will continue in August with a similar four person team event.

The Friday evening competition, which is a social occasion for members and their guests, continues over the next few months and the next competition in the Member/Guest series will be on Sunday 25th July and this will be a Mixed Scotch Foursomes over 18 holes.

RESULTS

Ladies Invitation Day, 7th July 2010

Winner Ursula Mason (30) 39 points

Second Brenda O’Sullivan (33) 38 points

Third Sheila MacDonald (30) 37 points

First Nine Ruth Skehan (27) 19 points

Second Nine Helen Comerford (20) 21 points

Summer Series, 8th July 2010

Winners

Richard Murphy (14) (New Ross)

P.J. O’Connor (7) (New Ross)

James Nelson (20) (Corrstown)

Michael Murphy (14) (San Jose) 90 points

Runners Up

Stephen Price (7) (Mount Juliet)

Darren Kelly (18) (Malahide)

Ciaran Maher (20) (Balcarrick)

Brendan Feeney (7) (Balcarrick) 89 points

July Monthly Medal, 11th July 2010

Category 1 Tony Frew (8) 44 points

Category 2 Alan Hearn (15) 40 points

Category 3 Paul Carty (19) 32 points

Ladies Margaret Clandillon (26) 38 points

Men’ CSS – 36 points

Ladies CSS – 37 points